All This Time
by maldilove
Summary: Jacob finally meets the one everyone told him he would find, it just took him running across the entire country to find her. However, something tragic could mean he loses everything just when he was finally happy.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a long time since he had walked on two feet. It was a strange sensation to be so exposed to the environment but he managed to blend in as though he belonged in this small rural town. He wasn't sure which state he decided to stop in this time but it was definitely different from his home back in Washington. He walked until he found the first motel he saw, unfortunately for him there didn't seem to be anything besides a run down bed and breakfast.

He walked into the two-story house, which on the outside looked perfectly normal with a white picket fence, blue shutters and lively green grass. There was even a flowerbed overflowing with different colorful flowers to the right of the front door. However, the moment you walked inside it was a completely different story. The carpet looked like it hadn't been washed in years and the wallpaper was peeling off the walls. He walked to the front counter and rang the small gold bell. He looked around and wondered if this was a good idea. Not that he was worry about his safety, there wasn't much out there he was afraid of anymore. He was more worried about his health.

An elderly woman wearing a tattered pink floral dressed walked out with a pep in her step.

"Oh dear! We have a guest! Hello, darling! How can I help you?" She said coming forward, opening the guest book that was covered in two inches of dust.

"I need a room for the night. Just one night." He emphasized as he took another look around questioning his sanity at the same time.

"Not a problem, dear. I'll just need a name and credit card."

"Jacob Black. And I'll pay in cash." He handed over the correct amount that was posted on the wall.

"Here you go, it's up the stairs and the first door on the right. I hope you find everything to your liking." She handed him a small silver key and pointed to the left where the staircase was located.

He walked up to his room and slowly opened the door, afraid of what he would find. He was pleasantly surprised to see, the bedroom at least, was kept up very nicely. There was a queen size bed in the middle of the room with a nightstand on either side. There was even a television set that looked relatively modern. He threw his bag down on the blue comforter and walked into the adjacent bathroom. It was decorated with a beach theme that now that he thought about it, just about everything that he saw in the house seemed to fit that theme. He wondered if he was near the ocean.

He walked over to the sink looking himself over for the first time in almost two months. He definitely needed to shave. He almost laughed thinking about how long that would take in his other form. He opted for a shower and put fresh clothes on. He shaved and then walked back downstairs, making sure to lock the door behind him. He rang the small bell again and the woman came back out.

"Yes, dear?" She asked and he noted the strong southern accent this time.

"Hi, I was wondering where the closest restaurant was located?"

She gave him directions to a small local seafood restaurant/ bar. As he got closer he could smell the salt water. Definitely a small beach town. Once he reached the restaurant he realized it was right next to the ocean. The building itself was made of a dark wood that fit the location and was decorated with fishing nets and buoys. It was a nice warm day, something he had come to liking over the past couple of months. He knew if he ever returned to Washington it was going to be a shock to his system. There were a few people sitting outside on the dock have drinks and talking happily. He felt like he was in a scene in a movie.

He started to walk over to the pier but it was almost as if something was pulling him into the restaurant. Not questioning it he walked inside and sat down at the bar. He looked around for a bartender or waitress until he saw her. It was a good thing he was sitting down or he might have fallen over. He had heard the stories a million times, how your whole world shifts the moment you lock eyes with her but he never fully understood what it would feel like, until this very moment. She had long, shiny, auburn hair that flowed to the small of her back. Her eyes were a dazzling hazel and were staring right at Jacob. He felt his heart rate increase with every step she made toward him. She appeared to be an average height, probably around 5'5'' he guessed but her legs seemed to stretch for miles. She was wearing a light blue T-Shirt with the restaurant's logo in the top left area, and a pair of torn blue jean shorts that showed of her long tan legs.

"Can I get you something?" She asked and he almost melted at the sound of her voice. To anyone else it probably sounded just like an ordinary girl, but to him it was the sweetest of music. He snapped out of his daze to answer her before she started to question his sanity.

"Y-yes, just a coke, please." He was able to stammer out. She smiled and fixed his drink for him.

"I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new to town?" She asked while pouring ice into a tall glass cup.

"Yes, I just got here today."

"I figured as much, you look a little lost." She giggled and he couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face.

"Mind helping me find my way around?" He asked boldly, leaning forward ever so slightly as she placed his drink in front of him. She raised one eyebrow at his forwardness and opened her mouth to respond.

"Kali! Have you finished inventory?" An older man, in his late forties, yelled from the other side of the restaurant.

"Yes, it's on your desk!" She yelled back, she turned her attention back to the strange man and smiled again. "Never work with family." She joked with a wink and walked over to a different customer.

He knew it was rude, but he couldn't stop staring. He really had to travel across the entire country to imprint on some random girl in a bar. But to him she wasn't just some random girl. She was _the_ girl. The girl he would spend the rest of his life with.

After a few minutes she came back and asked what he would like to eat.

"What do you recommend," he asked.

"Hm, well if you're a burger kinda guy, which you look like you are, we have the best Jalapeño Burger. They're huge but I always finish it, it's just that good." She was definitely his kind of girl.

"Sounds good to me!" She smiled and went to go put the order in. He nursed his drink until she brought his food out, when she put the plate down he grabbed her wrist. She looked up alarmed.

"Can I take you out some time? For dinner or something?"

"Um, I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

"Please? You won't regret it! One date, if you don't have a good time, I'll leave you alone." Which he knew wasn't true. He could never leave her now.

She hesitated before she smiled and nodded. "Okay, meet me here tomorrow at six. If you are even a second late, I'm leaving." He laughed and smiled back as he let go of her arm.

Once back in his room, Jacob couldn't get her image out of his head. She was it, he had to come all they way across the country to imprint! Now he had to wait a whole day to see her again. He didn't know if he could last that long.

Kalista. Kalista. Kalista.

She had such a beautiful name. To match her beautiful face.

After a long hot shower he was able to lie down and go to sleep.

"Who was that guy?" Her dad asked walking over to the bar after Jacob left.

"Oh, just some tourist. It's nothing." She said casually as she finished cleaning up the bar and putting all the alcohol in the right space.

"It must have been something, you agreed to go out with this guy." He stated not looking up from his clipboard.

"You were spying on us? How did you even hear that?" She asked outraged. Her dad had always been the overprotective type, but he had never spied on her before.

"I didn't, Jason did."

"Ugh, look Dad, it's nothing, we're just going out to dinner. For Gods sake I'm 21 years old, I don't need your permission anymore!" She stomped out of the restaurant and into her old red Jeep Wrangler. She wasn't that interested in this Jacob guy, I mean he was very attractive, but she had only known him for an hour, the word "known" being a bit of an overstatement. It was more of just her dad trying to boss her around again. She moved out when she started college only coming home on the holidays but he still seemed to think she was a child. Now that it was summer she rented an apartment by the beach with her best friend, Shelly.

She pulled into her driveway and turned the car off. She sat in her car for a few seconds before getting out. She walked up to the small one story house painted in a bright beachy blue color with a white trim. It was on stilts making it looked bigger on the outside. She walked up the stairs and open the door into her living room. The walls were painted a sandy color with furniture made of beach wood and a white and blue color pattern for the cushions. Shelly was sitting on the couch watching television on their modest 30" flat screen. It was Shelly and Kali's home-welcoming gift to themselves when they moved in.

"Hey girl! How was work?" She asked looking up from the screen. Shelly was gorgeous with long blond hair to contrast with her tan skin. She had wide brown eyes and perfectly red lips. Whenever Kali and Shelly went anywhere Shelly was always the center of attention, which was perfectly okay to Kali.

"It was alright. This guy asked me out on a date for tomorrow night, and I said yes-"

"What?! You don't know what kinda guy he is? What if he murders and rapes you?!" Shelly exclaimed, cutting Kali off.

Kali raised her eyebrows and looked at the TV where a crime investigation show was playing.

"You've been watching too much TV, Shelly." Shelly rolled her eyes but turned the TV off anyways. "Besides, he didn't seem like a creep at all. He is gorgeous! Like drop dead beautiful! So if figured, why not? It's about time I started dating again." She said with a smile on her face as she pictured Jacob's face again.

"I agree. Derrick was an ass-wipe and it is time for you to find someone else!" Shelly stated referring to Kali's ex-boyfriend Derrick. "It has been three months since y'all called it quits!" Kali nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, so anyways, Jason overheard us and told Dad. And of course, Dad flipped out. But I kindly reminded him that I was 21 and could do whatever I wanted." Shelly raised her eyebrows at the word "kindly" but didn't say anything. "He's taking me to dinner tomorrow night and as much as I hate to say it, I'm really excited. I hope he's not another ass-wipe." She worried out loud at the though of her horrible last boyfriend.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. What's his name?"

"Jacob, he's new in town. Just got here today."

"Wait? Is he new, as in moving into town? Or new as in, just passing through?" Shelly asked with a very serious look on her face.

Kali faltered, "I'm not sure. I didn't ask, but I will tomorrow. That's the last thing I need right out. Fall in love with someone who will never be around."

"True that! She said as she raised her beer as if to toast. She took a long drink before standing up. "You want one?" She asked as she walked to the kitchen.

"I'll get it!" Kali said walking behind her.

The kitchen was facing the ocean with a large window above the sink. The walls were coral and the counters where a white wood with matching white appliances. Kali walked to the French door refrigerator and pulled out a beer. She open the bottle with her hand and took a swig. She looked out the window at the dark ocean with only the moonlight to shine on the water. It was still beautiful.

"Wanna finish that movie before we go to bed?" Shelly asked, Kali looked at the clock that told her it was only ten thirty.

"Yeah, we've only got less than half of it left." They both walked back into the living room and turned on the movie they started the other night. It was a romantic comedy they had wanted to see. Kali let herself zone out into the movie and tried to forget about the date she had tomorrow with the mysterious Jacob.

The next morning Kali woke up to the sound of her alarm clock blaring an annoying beeping noise. She rolled over slapping the buttons with her hand. She turned her face to look at the clock. 8:30 AM is what it read back to her in red. She sat up slowly and stretched her limbs. She stood up and walked over to her white dresser pulling out a pair of black running shorts, a hot pink sports bra, and a loose blue tank top. She put them on and walked into her bathroom to brush her teeth and pull her hair into a high ponytail. She washed her face staring in the mirror. She didn't sleep well and she could see the effects of that by the dark circles under her eyes. She walked back into her purple room. All of the furniture was white, she had a queen sized four-poster bed that had a lavender floral bedspread on it currently a mess. Her closet was small and only held the fancy dresses and shirts she couldn't fold and her shoes. She grabbed her bright coral running shoes out of her closet and pulled them on. Making sure to get her iPod and headphones she started her "Running" playlist full of fast upbeat songs, and walked into the kitchen drinking a glass of water.

She walked out of her house down the stairs and up the wood walkway to get the beach. She stopped at the top of the sand dune to stretch her legs and arms before she began to run. Kali had been running every morning since her sophomore year in high school. There was something really relaxing to her about starting her day off with a run on the beach. She ran towards the water until she was on the hard packed sand, making it a little easier on her joints, and ran north to the nearest pier. It was roughly two miles one way. She let her mind drift to the music as she tried to concentrate on her breathing and the feel of the ocean breeze.

Jacob woke up to the sun blaring in his eyes. He rolled over with a grunt and tried to go back to sleep. It had been so long since he slept in a real bead an not on the hard cold ground. He looked over at the digital clock on the bedside table to see it was eight thirty. He sighed and got out of bed. He jumped into the shower loving the feeling of being clean. He forgot all the benefits of being human. After his shower he brushed his teeth and combed his hair noticing how long it had gotten. He figured if he was going to be human for a while he might as well get it cut.

Getting dressed he went downstairs and rang the small bell again. The elderly woman walked out.

"Yes, dear?" She asked in her sweet southern accent.

"Where could I get a cheap hair cut?" Jacob asked running his hand through his dark hair.

"There's a great barber shop on the northern pier, here I'll write down the directions." She said grabbing a pen and paper and began to write the simple instructions.

"Thanks," he said and walked out into the warm sun. He could definitely get used to the warmth.

He looked down at the paper and began walking in the direction she specified.

Once Kali reached the pier she stopped, took her heart rate and stretched again. She stared at the ocean for a few minuets as she let her heart slow down to normal. She turned towards the stairs that lead up to the pier and walked to the little coffee shop that was a local hot spot. She came here every morning for breakfast during the summertime.

She walked in and sat in her usual seat at the bar.

"Hey, Kali! How are you this morning?" The waitress, Ms. Walker, asked pouring her a cup of coffee.

"Good, I'll just have my usual." Ms. Walker nodded with a smile as she went to put the order in. Kali grabbed one of the newspapers sitting on the bar and began reading the front-page stories.

"Anything good?" She turned towards the voice that was suddenly right next to her opening her mouth to answer. She stopped in her tracks when she saw who it was.

"Derrick?" She asked, stunned. _What was he doing here?_ She thought to herself.

"Hey, babe. How have you been?" He asked leaning in for a hug. Her arms remained in front of her, holding the newspaper, and he wrapped her in his arms for longer than needed.

"Um, good. I've been real good. You?" She asked in return not taking her eyes off of him. It had been three months since she caught him cheating on her- in her dorm room- and broke up with him.

"I've been better." He admitted as he leaned away and sat back down on the seat to her right. "I miss you." He said as if it took a lot out of him to say it out loud.

"It didn't look like you missed me a few months ago." Kali retorted feeling the anger bubble within her.

"I made a mistake! I wasn't thinking, she came on to me!" He defended himself.

"You knew exactly what you were doing. There is nothing you can say to make what you did okay." Kali said turning her attention back on the paper in her hand.

"Here you go darling." Ms. Walker said as she put a plate full of egg whites and orange slices and a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal in front of her.

"Kali, please. Just give me another chance. I promise I will never hurt you again." He pleaded.

"Not interested." Kali said with a bored tone. She had wiped her hands of Derrick a long time ago. She was ready to move on.

"Kali," He started as he place his hand on her forearm. She whipped her head in his direction.

"Can I help you?" They hear from behind Derrick. Kali couldn't help her smile as she saw Jacob standing there in all of his glory.

"Was anyone talking to you?" Derrick asked rudely.

"No, but I believe you were bothering my girl here." Jacob retorted coming to stand on her other side. He towered over Derrick by at least a foot.

"Your girl?" Derrick questioned and looked down at her. At this point Kali would do anything to get him to go away. She nodded and smiled as she ripped her arm out of his grip and wrapped it around Jacob's waist.

"Yep, this is my boyfriend Jacob. Jacob this is my ex Derrick. The one I was telling you about that cheated on me." She said looking up at her savior.

"Ah," He said smiling down at her. "I think it's time for you to leave." He said looking back over at Derrick who was frozen with a scowl on his face.

"You're really with this jerk?" He asked bewildered.

"Yes, and I plan to be for a long time. So I'm not interested in your offer. Why don't you go find some other poor girl to harass?"

Stunned he turned around and walked out. Kali sighed with relief and looked over to Jacob.

"Thank you so much. I was dreading the next time I would see him." She said with a smile. He came to sit next to her and ordered food.

"No problem. Anything for you." He said and she nearly fell over at his breathtaking smile.

"So what are you doing over here, not that I'm not ungrateful or anything!" She asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

"You didn't notice?!" He exclaimed in mock horror as he ran his hand over his noticeably shorter hair. "I got my hair cut!" She chuckled as she nodded swallowing her drink.

"Ah, I'm so sorry. I guess I got caught up in the action." She replied, playing along, through a smile.

"I'll forgive you. But just this once." He winked at her. Ms. Walker place a plate down in front of him with eggs, bacon, grits, gravy and a biscuit on top.

"Hungry?" Kali asked with a snicker.

"Nah, just a snack for now." He took a huge bite of eggs. He ate as though he hadn't in months. When he finished chewing he looked her over. "What are you doing over here this early?" He asked as he took another bite.

"I come here every morning after my run." She explained finishing my oatmeal.

"So you must leave near by," He stated.

"About two miles south, so yeah." She replied putting an orange slice in her mouth attempting to suck all the juice out. She realized by the amused look on Jacob's face it was not a very lady-like thing to do. She pulled it out slowly and smiled. "Sorry." She wiped her mouth with her napkin and put the orange slice down.

"No, I like it!" He said laughing. She couldn't help but join in. She felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her shorts.

"One second." She said as she looked down to see it was her alarm telling her it was time to go back and get ready for work. "Sorry, I've got to go. She said standing up, throwing a few bills on the bar waving bye to Ms. Walker. He stood with her paying as well.

"Okay, well I guess I'll see you tonight at six." They walked out together into the warm wind. She smiled at the thought of seeing him again. She nodded and started down the stairs waving goodbye at him.

She began running back to her house unable to keep the smile off her face.

Jacob had a new bounce in his step as he walked back to the B&B. He figured he would be in this little town for a while. He might wanna start growing his roots, starting with a job. He had walked past a mechanic's shop with a "Now Hiring" sign in the window. He walked inside to speak to the manager. A half hour later he walked out employed as a general mechanic. Now for an apartment.

When he got back to the B&B he asked the little woman where he could find an realtor. She wrote down a number for him and lent him a phone to call.

After a couple of hours of looking around he found a beach house with a room for rent. It was a block away from the pier and a street away from the ocean, but still had a nice view from the roof deck. It a was fully furnished two bedroom. His new roommate's name was Kevin, a college student on summer break. He was average height, about six feet, with sandy blonde hair average built. He looked more like a surfer to Jacob, but didn't act like one at all. He seemed nice enough and knew the area well.

Jacob decided he needed to go shopping for some clothes if he was really going to do this. Live in one place that was. Kevin told him where the closest mall was, and even drove him there. It didn't take Jacob long to find a good amount of clothes to start off with. Mainly T-shirts, jeans, underwear, and a couple of nice button up shirts. One he was planning on wearing tonight. It wasn't long until it was already five thirty and he decided to head over to the restaurant. He had a feeling Kali took tardiness very seriously and he didn't want to lose this opportunity.

He arrived fifteen minutes early, but figured better to be early than late. He sat outside facing the ocean with a bouquet of different flowers for Kali. He stopped on his way and when asked which kind he simply said "one of each". He couldn't help the nervousness building inside of him, his leg bounced in anticipation.

Finally he felt the air move behind him, he turned around to see the most beautiful sight his eyes had every laid themselves on.

Kali stood there in a long purple dress with white lines going across. It was pulled together at her waist and fell straight down to the floor. It looked like it was made of cotton and flowed in the wind nicely. She had her long auburn hair curled into loose waves and only a light amount of makeup on. This last feature was his favorite. He was never a fan of girls who covered their face in makeup.

"Hey," She stated as she stepped forward.

"H-hey," He stuttered out. He rushed suddenly and held out the bouquet of the random assortment of flowers. She smiled and reached out to take them.

"Thank you, they're beautiful. Let me put them in some water." She stated walking towards the back into the "Employee Only" section. He stood outside of the door waiting on her. When she walked back out she had put the flowers in a tall beer glass full of water. He chuckled at the site.

"Not the classiest thing ever, but it's the best I can do," She joined in with a small giggle. She placed the makeshift vase on the table Jacob was originally sitting at and took a seat. He followed suit never taking his eyes off her.

"You are so beautiful," He couldn't stop himself.

Her face turned crimson and she looked down at her hands that were in her lap. "Thank you, that's very sweet. You clean up real nice as well." She said not looking up.

He reached over putting his hand on her cheek, pulling her to look at him. She smiled at him and leaned away.

"So what's your story, Jacob? What brings you to this small beach town?" She asked smoothly changing the subject.

"Well to be honest, I have no idea. I was just run- driving and decided to stop here for the night. One thing lead to the other and I decided to stay." He said trying not to insinuate she was the reason he decided to stay. That wouldn't have gone over well.

"So you are staying?" She asked trying not to get her hopes up. She barely even knew this guy.

"As long as I'm wanted." He flashed those bright white teeth and she felt her heart rate increase.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you running from?" She asked, needing to know. She like bad boys, but only to a certain degree.

He sighed. He knew he would have to answer this question eventually. He didn't think telling her the truth about his heritage was the best idea right now. So he told a vague but true answer.

"A bad relationship. I couldn't take being around it anymore, so I decided to leave and travel the US." He answered hoping she wasn't the prying type.

"Ah, I understand how that is, as you already know." She stated referring to earlier this morning. He laughed relieved she didn't seem to care too much about his mysterious past.

"Anything I need to know about?" He asked intrigued by her life.

"We had been dating since my freshman year of college, I'll be a senior this coming August. Anyways, this past March I caught him in bed with some random girl. In _my_ bed, nonetheless. Needless to say, I ended it right then and there. He didn't seem to care at the time, but I guess Miss Random Girl got sick of it too and dumped him and now he wants me back. But I have always said, once a cheater always a cheater." She rambled feeling foolish for telling all this to some stranger.

He nodded and smiled. "If you need me to kick his ass all you have to do is ask!" She chucked.

"I just might if he comes around again. I doubt he will though, you scared him off pretty well earlier."

"So have you lived here your whole life?" Jacob asked, switching topics again.

"Yeah, born and raised. My dad owns this place, has since before me or my brother was born."

"Oh, you have a brother?"

"Yeah, Jason. He's five years older than me. He lives here too with his wife and daughter. We've always been really close. Do you have any siblings?"

"Two older sisters. I was born in Washington State, one of them still lives there, the other lives in Hawaii with her husband. She doesn't come back often, flights cost too much."

"Are y'all close?"

"Rebecca and I are, she's the one that still lives in Washington. Rachel on the other hand, not so much. There is such an age gap between us we never spent that much time together. Now she lives so far away it makes it even harder." Jacob had never really talked about the relationships between him and his sisters to anybody. But with Kali he felt so open, like he could tell her anything.

"I'm sorry to hear that," She said sympathetically, reaching out and holding his hand. "You're so warm!" She stated suddenly. "You're not sick are you?" His skin felt like fire on hers, she wondered if he had a fever.

"No, I'm fine. I've always been like that. Naturally hot-blooded I guess," He chuckled trying to not make a big deal about it.

"Oh, okay." She moved her hand anyways as much as Jacob didn't want her too.

"You wanna get out of here? I saw a miniature golf-course on the way here that looked like fun." She smiled and nodded.

"Sure, let me put these in the back and I'll come by later and pick them up." She said picking up the flowers and walking into the back again. When she reemerged he reached out for her hand and walked out of the restaurant and on to the street.

"Mind if we drive? I wasn't so smart, I wore heels." She asked pulling up her dress just enough to show Jacob her six-inch heels. He laughed and nodded his head.

"Sure, where did you park?" He asked looking around the parking lot.

"Over there," She pointed to a red Jeep Wrangler. Jacob liked this girl more and more. "Wait, where is your car?" She asked looking up at him. He furrowed his eyebrows at her statement, and then remembered he told her he drove to this little town.

"I didn't bring it, I wanted to walk." He said quickly. Add a car on to the list of things to buy. He was glad he got a job today, he was blowing threw the rest of his savings quickly. She seemed to accept that explanation and continued to walk to her car. They both got in and she drove to the miniature golf course he had been talking about. She had already taken the doors and roof off before she left her house. She loved the feel of the wind blowing through her hair, she was sure she would look like a mess when they reached their destination.

Jacob relished the sight before him. Kali's hair blowing around her as the sun began to set behind them. Tonight couldn't get any better than it was right now.

When they arrive Kali parked the car and hopped out. Her heel gave out and she braced herself for the fall but all she felt was two strong arms wrapped around her keeping her up.

"Whoa, you okay there?" She opened her eyes to see Jacob standing there holding her. He was truly the most attractive person she had ever seen. With his bronze tan skin that appeared natural, black hair, sparkling brown eyes, and beautiful smile there was nothing to dislike.

"Um, yeah," She tried to get out. She leaned down to her shoe that was now broken.

"Damn, these were my favorites too." She exclaimed pulling off the black pumps. She threw them into the back seat of her Jeep.

"Do you wanna go home?" He asked dishearten.

"No, they have a gift store. Maybe they sell flip-flops or something." She said smiling up at him. He was amazing. Most girls would have freaked out and demand to go home. Not Kali though, she was definitely not most girls.

"Okay, lets do this! Are you ready to get your butt kicked in putt-putt?" He asked scooping her up in his arms bridal style so she wouldn't have to walk on the gross ground barefoot. She laughed in surprise throwing her head back.

"I can walk! It's fine!" She exclaimed as he opened the door and walked into the gift shop on the left.

"Do you have any idea what's on the ground? There could be broken glass or something!" He replied in mock outrage. She rolled her eyes at him no longer attempting to argue.

"Oh, look over there! Flip-flops!" She pointed to the back of the store where they sold cheap plastic flip-flops.

"Yes, ma'am." He said walking to the back. "Which please your little heart?" He asked turning she could see them without straining her neck.

"Those!" She pointed to a pair of purple flip-flops with cute little white flowers on the straps. "They match so perfectly. It's like fate!" She said dramatically. He chuckled and picked up a pair in the size she requested. and walked to the counter where there was a small bench. He placed her gently in a sitting position and put the shoes on the counter. Before she had time to pull out her wallet he had paid for them and was leaning down to put them on.

"Jacob! You weren't supposed to pay for them! It was my fault I broke my shoe!"

"Don't be silly, it's the manufacture's fault. And believe me, they will be getting a very strongly worded letter from me!" He said sliding the shoes on her dainty feet with purple painted toes.

"Just a guess, but is purple your favorite color?" He asked looking up from kneeling on the ground. She smiled sheepishly.

"How'd you know?" She asked jokingly.

"Oh, just an hunch. Now, lets go kick some butt in putt-putt!" He exclaimed as he stood and extended his hand to her. She took it willingly and stood. They walked outside of the little arcade and Jacob paid for their game. They picked their clubs and different color balls. Kali's was purple of course and Jacob pick up the blue one.

As they walked over to the first hole, Jacob did an exaggerated bow, "Ladies first." She smiled and placed her ball down. Taking her time to line up her shot. She swung the club lightly hitting the ball in a hole-in-one. She jumped up with excitement. She looked over at a stunned Jacob.

"What was that about kicking my butt?" She asked with fake confusion.

"Yeah, yeah, it's only the first hole."

Eighteen holes later they added up their scores and much to Kali's satisfaction she had won by a landslide. He couldn't help the smile at her excitement. It had been a great game. They had talked about everything under the sun. She was perfect for him and she felt the same about him. Definitely not an ass-wipe, Shelly would be pleased.

They walked back to her car hand in hand. When they finally had to let go Jacob pulled her toward him and without giving her time to react he leaned down to kiss her passionately. She felt her heart skip a beat, she had been hoping he would do this all night. She kissed him back matching his lips with her own. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her up to his height just slightly. She placed her arms around his neck letting him pick her up more. If she wasn't in a dress or public she would have wrapped her legs around his waist to stay on his level. Luckily she had better control than that.

She had no idea how long they were wrapped up like that, it wasn't long enough though when he finally pulled around. He looked down at her with a wide smile.

He could definitely get used to this.


	2. Chapter 2

The next three months went by in a blurry of long hot days spent at the beach and warm nights lying on Jacob's roof staring at the stars talking about any and everything. But then came August and Kali had to go back to school.

"Do you really have to leave? I mean, what am I going to do with myself?" Jacob asked for the hundred times as they sat on Kali's couch. He had her wrapped up in his arm as she cuddled into his side. She sighed and looked up at him. She loved this man more than she ever thought she would love anyone. And now she had to pack up and move back to her college, it was only a couple of hours away but still too far from Jacob. She was going to miss him like crazy.

"At least I'll be a senior! Only one more year and then we can move in together and get on with our lives." She said. This would normally freak out most guys, but her and Jacob talked about their futures all the time. They loved to sit up at night just planning where they wanted to live, what kind of house they wanted, how many kids, what kinds of dogs. Everything. She was never afraid to tell Jacob her desire to be with him forever, and as much as she couldn't believe it, he seemed to feel the same way.

There was still a small voice in the back of her head that worried about what he _would_ do when she was gone. There were plenty of girls that had been eyeing Jacob up and down all summer. She just hoped he really did love her as much as she loved him.

"I can't wait," he leaned down and place a sweet kiss on her lips. She never got used to the warmth of his skin, but loved it all the same. What started of as a small peck soon turned into much more. Kali sat up and pushed herself into him, Jacob pushed her back until they were lying down with Jacob on top. He pulled away but only to continue a trail of scorching kisses down her chin to the back of her ear. Suddenly a moan escaped her lips, causing Jacob to freeze. He leaned away to look her in the eyes. Mortified she threw her hands over her face to hide her now bright red face. He slowly pulled her hands away from her face so he could look at her properly.

"Don't hide from me." He said with a smile. "Do you want to stop?" He asked softly.

"Is it bad that I don't? That I never want to stop?"

"No." As simple as that he pick her up and carried her into her bedroom. They spent the whole night memorizing every inch of each other, knowing it would be a long time before they would get the chance again. She felt no regret as she gave everything she had to offer the man in her bed. She waited her whole life for this moment, never having been with a man this way. She was pleased to find out Jacob was in the same situation.

When she woke up to her alarm telling her it was time to load up the car and get on the road. She groaned and rolled over searching the sheets. She frowned when her hands came up empty and sat straight up. Her worse fear coming true, he had left.

Just as the thought crossed her mind she hear the toilet flush in her bathroom. She felt a sigh of relief escape her and laid back down. She heard him wash his hands and the door open. He hadn't bothered to clothe himself, he stood in all his glory in front of Kali. She giggled and covered her head with the sheets.

"Jake! Put some clothes on!" She screamed.

"Why? It's not like you didn't see it all last night! Your turn!" He ripped the cover off of Kali exposing her naked body to his hungry eyes.

"Real mature." She rolled on to her back no longer attempting to cover herself. He smiled down at her, his eyes glazing over. "Like what you see?" She raised her eyebrows at him with a smirk.

"Very much so." He threw himself onto the bed next to her and pulled her into his side.

"I have to pack the car up." She reminded him as he traced small circles on her back.

"I know. I'm going to miss you." He kissed her shoulder leaving his head there.

"You'll find something to do to entertain yourself I'm sure." He raised his eyebrows at the tone of her voice. It sounded almost angry.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I won't be here. And the girls here have been staring at you all summer. They'll think we broke up or something and you'll forget all about me and-" He cut her off with his mouth pushing her back.

"Kali," he said when he pulled away, "I love you. More than anything else in this world. I don't even see other girls, and when I do, it's because I'm comparing them to you, and they never even come close. Never. You have nothing to worry about. I'm the one who should be worrying!" She smiled as he starting thinking about God knows what.

"Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You are five times the man than any guy I might meet at school." He didn't seem completely relieved but let it go.

"Come on, lets take a shower!" He said picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder as he walked into the bathroom.

It had been a month since Kali left for school and Jacob thought he was going to go crazy. He still hadn't told her the truth about where he came from and what he was. He was terrified she would get freaked out and leave him. This also meant that he couldn't explain the bond he had for her. The need to be around her all the time. The pull he felt whenever she was away toward her. He tried to keep himself busy at work and on the weekends he sat alone in his apartment and thought about Kali. They video chatted whenever she wasn't busy with class or her friends and texted throughout the whole day. This still wasn't enough for Jacob.

He didn't want to come off clingy or needy. But damn, he needed her! He felt his phone vibrate and felt an overcoming joy as he saw her picture on his phone.

"Hey, baby!" He answered the phone. He was sitting in the main office of the auto repair shop. He stepped outside to not disturb the people in the waiting room.

"Hey, Jake! How are you?" Her voice almost brought him to his knees.

"I'm alright. As good as I could get without you here." He said unable to hide the truth from her. Well this truth anyways.

"Well I have good news for you! I'm coming home this weekend. It's gonna be me you and my bed all weekend, baby!" She said the last part in a whisper making Jake think she was in public.

"Really? You're coming home?" He felt the excitement bubble within him.

"You betcha! I'm leaving here on Friday afternoon around three, so I should be there by five. You wanna go to dinner and a movie?" He couldn't talk he was so happy. So he nodded dumbly not realizing she couldn't see him.

He finally found his voice. "Yes, that sounds great!"

"Okay, I can't wait to see you! I gotta go, my class is about to start! Love you!"

"Love you too!" He replied as the dial tone took over. Today was Tuesday, he only had to make it three days before he got to see her again. He could do that.

The next day Jacob sat in Kali's family restaurant where they met all those months ago. Her father, Michael, came up to him with a smile on his face. He had accepted their relationship the first time Kali introduced them to each other. He could tell that Jacob cared very deeply for Kali. More than even he could understand.

"Hey Jake, how are you?" Michael asked as he grabbed him a beer and a basket of peanuts.

"Better now that I know Kali is coming home this weekend." He said happily as he took a sip of the beer. Even though Jake was technically only eighteen, his body was a mature twenty-five year old, and his fake ID said he was twenty-three. No one ever questioned him.

"Yeah, it'll be great to see her again. You would think I would get used to her being gone, this being her fourth year and everything. But I miss her everyday like it was her first." His voice suddenly filled with emotion but he turned his back on Jacob before he could see anything incriminating.

"Thankfully she'll be done soon and we can find somewhere to live..." Jacob trailed off. He hadn't thought of that yet. He had spent many hours daydreaming of their future together, how many kids, dogs, the kind of house they would have. But he never put much time into where that house might be. He wanted to go back to Washington eventually. When everything with Bella had calmed down. But now that he found Kali he didn't seem to care as much about Bella's situation. Of course it saddened him to think of her ending her life that way, but she had made her choice and there was nothing he could do to make her change her mind. He didn't have as much of a motivation anymore. He missed his father and the pack more than ever and wanted them to meet Kali and fall in love with her.

"Well, there are plenty of houses available in the area with the way the economy is now. I'm sure y'all can find a suitable first house to move into." It pleased Jake to see how comfortable Michael was with the prospect of them being together for a long time. But it also bothered him that Michael assumed they would live in the area, of course Jake couldn't blame him for assuming that outlook, he had never spoke otherwise.

Jacob didn't respond other than to nod his head. He looked down at his watch to see it was time to go back to work. He went to throw a couple of dollars down to pay for his drink when he saw Michael shake his head and roll his eyes. Jake smiled and left the money there anyways. He had no idea how many free drinks and meals he had gotten from Michael, but the thought he might be taking his daughter very far away for a very long time made Jake feel extremely guilty.

Jacob continued to pounder over the future all the way to work as he drove. He decided the best idea would be to visit La Push first, see if Kali even liked it there. She would have to be willing to get used to the cold before he even asked her to leave her warm sunny home of the south. He wouldn't take Kali anywhere she wouldn't be happy.

It was Friday afternoon and Jake was practically bouncing with excitement. Only one more hour until Kali would arrive at his apartment. Kevin wasn't home for the weekend as he went on a vacation with his current girlfriend. He ran through the apartment cleaning everything he touched. He even lit candles, more for fragrance than romance but figured it wouldn't hurt. The sent was Kali's favorite, Beach Sunset from a little candle shop in town. Sooner than he expected he heard a car pull into the drive way. He peaked out of the curtains to see her step out of her Jeep. She wore dark wash jeans and a oversized coral sweater. Her hair was up in a ponytail and minimal makeup. Just like Jacob liked.

He opened the door before she reached the stairs beaming at the most beautiful girl he has ever saw and ever would see. The moment she saw him she dropped her bag and sprinted towards him. Hitting his solid stomach with a loud thud as he picked her up and spun her around. He placed gentle kissed on the top of her head before setting her down on her feet and continuing those kisses to her temples, down the side of her cheek and finally on to her plump pink lips.

She put every ounce of passion she had in her tiny body into that kiss. It had been way too long- she needed Jake. She needed him now. She attempted to push him back but it was like trying to move a mountain. He understood what she wanted though and picked her up bridal style, never once moving his lips from hers and carried her into his bedroom kicking the door close.

He gently placed her on the bed and climbed over her. She pulled his shirt over his head and looked his body over. He smirked down at her, "Like what you see?" He questioned not giving her time to answer before his lips were on her again.

She knew that if she didn't stop now, she never would. So with high reluctance she pulled way from him again to see him frown down at her.

"We have dinner reservations in twenty minutes!" She answered looking at the digital clock on his nightstand. He sighed and nodded his head. He stood up and pulled his red polo back over his head. He reached a hand down to her and pulled her up to stand in front of him.

"Hi." She said simply with a smile.

"Hi." He answered leaning down to give her another sweet short kiss.

"How was your drive?" He asked reaching down to hold her hand as he pulled her out of his room and into the living room.

"It was alright, long and boring. But I'm so happy to be home. I missed you." She said pulling on his arm. He turned to look at her.

"I missed you too, baby. More than I thought possible." He smiled at her before going over to the bar to blow out the candles.

They drove to a nice seafood restaurant by the water, Jacob never letting go of her hand. Once they were seated and had ordered their drinks they began to catch up. Even with the constant communication Jacob could listen to her talk all day long and never get bored with what she was saying. She was finishing up a story about how a guy on a bicycle almost ran her over on her way to class and she saw that he was actually an old friend from middle school. She was laughing at her story but she stopped when she looked at Jake.

"What's wrong?" She asked rubbing her thumb across the back of Jacob's hand that was placed on the table in between them.

"Nothing, nothing. I just like looking at you." He smiled to reassure her.

She giggled. "How's Dad doing? I don't get to talk to him much."

"He's doing alright. He still misses you like crazy, he can't wait for you to be done with school so you can come home."

"That makes two of us."

"Make that three." They smiled at each other and Jake felt the question that had been bothering him since Tuesday pass through his mind again. Where would they live? Just as he was about to ask, their waitress came by to take their order.

When she left Jake opened his mouth to ask again.

"Wow, she was rude." Kali said frowning. This caught Jacob off guard. Kali never frowns- she's always smiling. She noticed his confused expression and explained.

"She was totally flirting with you! It's pretty obvious we're on a date together but she practically had her boobs in your face!" Her voice was shaky as she tried to control her anger. She knew that Jake could have any girl he wanted and was terrified that one day he would realize the same thing and leave her. She shuddered at the thought. She was annoyed to find Jacob laughing. She cut her eyes to him.

"Babe, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I don't even notice other girls. After I met you they seem to no longer exist. Trust me, it's me and you forever." She attempted to smile but she couldn't help but worry anyways.

"Anyways, I was going to ask you if you would like to come up to La Push during your Christmas break and meet my family?" Jacob asked with hope pouring through his voice.

"That would be nice, I always forget that you're so far from home. It must be hard on you." She said rubbing his hand again, sympathy in her eyes.

"Yeah, I get a little home sick every now and then. I do really miss my father and my pac- my friends but I really want you to meet them." He almost slipped up. He knew he would have to tell Kali eventually what he was but not tonight.

"I would love to come to La Push with you! How long would you want to stay?" She asked just as they brought our food out.

"However long you would like. I'm sure you'd like to be back here for Christmas, which is fine." He answered taking a bit of his salmon.

"We can stay in La Push for Christmas, if they'll have me. I'd love to actually have a white Christmas!" She said with a laugh. It was November here and still in the high sixties low seventies on a regular basis.

"I can pretty much guarantee it will snow at some point!" He laughed with her.

The continued talking about La Push, places he wanted to take her, people he wanted to introduce her to. When they were done eating they left for the movie theater. They had to drive a little out of the way to get to the small building that only played four movies at a time.

They stood outside of the ticket booth and looked over their options. There was a children's movie, an action movie, a romantic comedy, and a horror movie playing. Jacob expected her to ask for the romantic comedy but surprised him when she suggested the horror movie.

"What? It's been a long time since I saw anything scary!" She explained when she saw his bemused look. He laughed and when to the ticket counter paying for their tickets. Once they walked in she headed for the theater room with the title Devil's Road above it. Jacob, however, pulled her to a stop in front of the concession stand.

"You're still hungry?" She laughed as he nodded his head.

When it was his turn to order he couldn't help but notice the guys wondering eye. Kali was well covered but that didn't keep him from staring. Jacob tried to ignore it as he ordered a large popcorn, candy, and two drinks. He paid and pulled Kali away trying to hide her from the creeps view. Kali looked at Jacob's angry expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked once they sat down in the middle of the theater, they were twenty minutes early so it was empty besides one other couple.

"Nothing." He said taking a full hand of popcorn and shoving it in his mouth. Kali didn't buy it but decided to let it go. That was one thing Jacob loved most about her, she didn't press the way other girls did. She accepted his answer and moved on.

"Can I stay at your place tonight? Shelly's not home and I don't want to be alone after watching this." She asked placing her head on his shoulder.

"Of course. Kevin's gone for the weekend too, so we'll have the place to ourselves." He smiled at the though of what they could do with all their free time.

"Good." They sat in silence until the movie started just enjoying being with the other. It was a comfortable silence that never felt awkward.

Kali never moved her body away from Jacob throughout the entire movie and would occasionally hide her head behind his shoulder whenever it was too gory. Jacob definitely didn't mind. He actually enjoyed that Kali felt so safe with him without even knowing what he was. When something would jump out in the movie she would give a little squeal and then laugh at herself, another thing that amused Jacob. When the movie was over Kali finally leaned way from him to stretch out her arms and fingers.

"Can you believe it was just the old man? He seemed so sweet!" She said shaking her head at the thought. To be honest Jacob hadn't really been paying attention to the movie, all he could think about was getting Kali home. So he simply nodded his head and leaned down to pick up the empty popcorn bag.

They left the theater room and Jacob went to go throw away their trash. When he turned back around he saw the guy at the concession stand was now talking to Kali.

"If you're free tomorrow night I could take you-" He was asking when Jacob came up behind Kali.

"I'm not free tomorrow. Or anytime after that. I'll be spending the week with my _boyfriend_." She said the last word with heavy emphasis. Jacob wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled at the guy in front of them.

"Oh, okay then." He walked away his shoulders slumped.

Kali turned around to face Jacob. "Was that what was bothering you earlier?" She asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I didn't think he would actually come and ask you out, so I let it go. What an ass." He said wrapping his arm around her waist and walking out of the theater towards his car. She laughed and he looked down at her confused.

"We both get hit on in one night! How strange..." Jacob walked around to open her door for her and help her in. Once she was seated he leaned down to kiss her. She placed her hands on the back of his head and pulled him closer tangling her fingers in his hair. She moaned when he pulled away to kiss down her jaw to her neck.

"Take me home." She whispered seductively in his ear and he felt chills run down his spine.

"Gladly." He ran around to his side and started the car up. He raced them back to his place and all but carried her to his room.

"This never gets old." Kali commented as she pulled one of Jake's oversized T-shirts over her head. She laid back down beside Jake and place her head on his bare chest. She traced small circles on his hot skin as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You can say that again." He said kissing the top of her head. It wasn't long until the circles stopped and he felt her breathing become deeper. "I love you." He whispered in the darkness and closed his eyes. He was happier in this moment than he ever thought possible.

He woke up to the smell of bacon and groaned searching the bed for Kali. When his hands came up empty he sat straight up, eyes wide open. His mild panic stopped when he heard her voice coming from the kitchen. She was singing to herself. He got up, sliding on a pair of jeans and walked into the kitchen. She was still in his T-shirt standing in front of the stove. He leaned against the doorframe and watched her dance from side to side singing some recent pop song. She turned around to get something from the refrigerator and jumped when she saw him standing there.

"Good morning." He said with a smirk.

"Good morning. Thank you for the heart attack." He pushed away from the wall and walked toward her wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her to him. He leaned down placing his forehead to hers.

"You're quite welcome. What are you cooking?" He placed small kissed on the side of her face down to behind her ear. She moaned when he nibbled on her ear and he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Breakfast." She said breathlessly. He pulled away from her and looked over at the stove where she was frying bacon and had a pot full of grits. He smiled and went to sit down at the small round kitchen table.

"How did you sleep?" He asked as Kali grabbed the carton of eggs out of the refrigerator.

"Like a baby. You?" She was attempting to reach a bowl from the top shelf and the shirt she wore rose up ever so slight. Jake didn't realize he was staring until Kali cleared her throat and he looked up at her face. "Some help, please?"

He stood and walked behind her to grab the large plastic bowl.

"Thank you." She smiled up at him and he place a quick kiss on her plump lips.

"You're welcome. So what do you want to do today?" He asked and walked back to the kitchen table.

"I was thinking we could go out to the beach for a while. I need some salt water in my system." She had her back to him as she cracked the eggs into the bowl. She stopped to turn the bacon over. She knew that Jacob liked his bacon chewy.

"That sounds nice."

"Then we could probably stop by the restaurant to say hello to Dad." She began to beat the eggs together and took the done bacon out of the pain. She picked the hot pan up with a potholder and pour the extra grease into a mason jar in the sink and placed it back on the stove. The pan made a sizzling sound as she poured the eggs into it. She then stirred the grits noticing they were done and took them off the hot eye and onto one that was turned off. She went back to the eggs stirring them slowly around the pot, Jake ate six eggs by himself and she normally ate two. When they were done she poured them on two separate plates, grabbed Jake six pieces of bacon and a healthy serving of grits. She handed him the plate giving him a kiss in the process. She fixed her own plate and went to sit next to him. She already had her cup of coffee and noticed Jacob staring at it longingly.

"There's some more in the pot." She said standing up to make him a cup. He grabbed her forearm.

"I'll get it. Eat."

"No I'll get it. After last night you probably need to eat more than I do." She smirked and walked over to the cabinet where he kept the cups. She grabbed a blue coffee mug and poured him a half full glass. Then grabbed the sugar and put two tablespoons worth of sugar stirring the liquid until it was full dissolved. She grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator and filled the remainder of the glass until it was a light tan color. She put the milk back and stirred his coffee once more before handing it to him. He took a small sip, as it was still hot, and smiled at her.

"Perfect. As always." He said and dug back into his breakfast. She ate slightly slower taking her time to chew. She didn't want to rush this time she had with him.

When they were done Jacob picked up both their plates and rinsed them off in the sink. Kali went to pick up the dirty pots and pans but Jake stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"You cooked. I'll clean. Go relax." He said and pointed to the living room.

"No, I want to help. I made the mess." She said stubbornly and tried to walk around him. He stepped in front of her once again. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before she gave in with a sigh.

"Fine, but I'm sitting in here." She walked back over to her seat at the kitchen table. He began to clean up and they chatted about different things. Kali seemed to be doing most of the talking. He wanted to hear everything, school, friends, and homework. So she told him not thinking anything she said was particularly interesting. When he finished drying the last pot and put it away he stood in front of Kali.

"I could listen to you talk all day long." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes in response.

"I have a better idea." He raised his eyebrows. She stood up and grabbed his hand leaning him into the bedroom, she didn't stop until she reached the bathroom where she leaned over to turn the shower on and looked at him pointedly.

"You do smell kinda bad." Was all Jacob said before he nearly shoved her in the shower."

They were now sitting on the sand, Kali in between Jacob's legs. They faced the water in a comfortable silence. Happy just to be with each other.

"You want to get in? The water was still warm the other day." Jacob suggested placing his head on her shoulder.

"Let's do it!" She said standing up and pulling her loose T-shirt over her head and sliding her jean shorts off. Jacob watched with admiration, she really was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He ripped his shirt off as well and followed her into the surf. He stood in the warm water up to his waist. Kali dove into the next wave loving the way the water felt on her skin. It had been too long. When she resurfaced she was surprised to see how close Jacob was. He wrapped her up in his arms and pulled her as close to his body as possible. His warm skin, the warm water, and warm air was the most erotic feeling Kali had ever experienced.

"I love you." She said simply, looking him in the eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life loving you."

"I love you. I will never let you go." They stared into each other eyes, Kali had her legs around his waist as he balanced them for every wave.

"Hey! Kali! Hey!" A loud voice broke them from their retrieve. They both looked toward the voice that seemed to be coming from behind Kali. It was Derrick. Great.

"Um, hey Derrick." Kali replied attempting to slid down. Jake kept a firm grip on her waist not allowing her to move.

"Oh...I see you two are still together." He was now standing in front of them. His face fell at the sight of them together.

"Yes, and extremely happy." Jacob stated a little forcefully.

"Well...I'm happy for you then." He didn't look happy at all. "Um, I don't know if you remembered our not, but my birthday is tomorrow, and I'm having a little get together at my place around eight, and you're more than welcome to come...and you can bring...Josh."

"Jacob." She corrected.

"Right, so you in?"

"Um, I actually have to leave tomorrow afternoon. But thanks for the offer. Have a good birthday." Kali answered.

"Oh, right. Okay, see you later. Nice to see you again, James." He began to swim away.

"I hope a shark eats him." Kali stated watching his retreating figure. She felt Jacob laugh and looked to see what could possibly be funny. "What? He's an asshole!"

"You are probably the sweetest girl I have ever met, and to see someone make you angry is a rare opportunity. Makes you feel a little more human to me." He explained placing a hand on the side of her face and stroked his thumb across her cheek.

"Are you saying I'm not human?" She mocked horror.

"You're too perfect to be human." He laughed and leaned down to places a sweet kiss on her lips.

They spent the rest of the weekend never leaving each other's sides. They stopped by to have dinner with her parents and brother's family. They spent one last loving night together before the next day when Kali slowly packed her bags once again and left to head back to school. They shared a longing kiss before she got into her Jeep and drove off, leaving Jacob behind with the annoying pulling sensation, like half of himself was in that car with her.

That's when he decided it was time to tell his father and the pack about Kali, and to prepare him for his return in December.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dad?" Jacob said into the phone. He paced the floor of his living room feeling the nervousness coarse through his body.

"Jacob?" He heard the deep raspy voice of Billy Black. How did he ever leave him?

"Hey, Dad. How are you?" He had no idea what his disappearance would do to his father. And being gone for almost a year now probably worried him more than necessary. He didn't realize how selfish his decision had been until this very moment.

"Oh, Jacob. I'm so glad you called! I've miss you so much, son." He could hear the emotion in Billy's voice and again felt a surge of guilt.

"Yeah, yeah I've missed you too, Dad. I'm coming home though. In December."

"Really? You're finally coming home? Oh Sam and the boys will be so please!"

"Yeah, and I met her. I imprinted. Her name is Kali, and she's...perfect! Dad, I can't wait for you to meet her!" He was beaming just at the thought of Kali and his Dad in the same room.

"That's great to hear, Jake. I'm sure she's lovely."

"How's everything there though, anything new?"

"Um, actually Jake, yeah. Bella got married, she's still human though. I guess she decided to wait a little while longer." Jacob hadn't thought of Bella since the day he meet Kali. It was a relief to now feel anything other than friendship towards her, he could finally just be her friend like she had always wanted. He was also relieved to hear she was staying human for the time being.

"Oh, that's great! I'm glad she decided to wait. Well, I gotta go, but I'll call you soon."

"Please do. Everyone will be so excited that you're coming home. See you in December."

"Bye, Dad." He hung up the phone and sat on the couch. Kali only had three more weeks of class until she was out for a month for Winter Break. He could wait that long.

The next three weeks dragged, as it got colder in this little beach town. It was down to the low fifties. Jacob worked almost every day and called his dad every now and then. He was getting really excited to see him again. Jacob had talked about him and Kali staying up in Washington for Christmas, and while he could see it made Michael sad he knew how bad Jacob wanted to see his family again. So he reluctantly agreed and said they would celebrate when they got back in early January.

Jacob had made all the flight reservations and debated over whether they should get a hotel room, but decided against it knowing it would hurt his father's feelings. Kali seemed to be just as excited as Jacob for their first vacation together. She had heard so many stories about his life back in Washington and couldn't wait to put faces to the names she had heard over and over again. They video-chatted every night talking about different things, sometimes not talking at all, just staring at each other.

Finally the day came when Kali packed her three suitcases full of clothes and shoes and came home for a whole month. She hugged her friends goodbye before they each got into their cars and drove off. The drive flew by, her thoughts swarming around Jacob- she couldn't wait to see him, to hold him again.

She pulled into the driveway to see Jacob standing on the front porch leaning against the wood poll with his arms crossed. Her memory didn't do his smile justice. His beaming white teeth stood out against his tan skin and dark eyes. She jumped out of her Jeep and ran into his arms. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him roughly, forgetting to breath and was suddenly panting when they pulled away.

"Hey." Jacob greeted putting her down on her feet and opening the front door.

"Hey, you look nice." Kali said looking him over. He was wearing black dress pants and a blue button up shirt with a matching blue and white striped tie.

"Thanks. And as soon as you get settled I will show you why." He took her hand and led her inside. She walked into the living room and placed one of her three suitcases to the side of the couch. She turned around to go back outside to get the rest but Jacob put both hands on her shoulders leaning down to her level.

"You sit, I'll go get the rest of your stuff." She looked like she wanted to argue but the look on Jake's face made her change her mind. She sat down on the couch and crossed her arms stubbornly and Jake walked back outside and quickly returned with her other two suitcases, rolling them in his room. He came out in to the living room standing in front of her holding his hand out. She took it and stood in front of him.

"Go put your best dress on, we're going out." He smiled excited for what he had in store for her.

"Okay, give me a couple of minutes." She grabbed her other suitcase next to the couch and took it with her into Jacob's room.

"Take you're time. We're in no rush." She smiled back at him and went to get ready. About thirty minutes later she walked back out in a skin tight red dress that stopped at their mid thigh. She worn gold open-toe pumps, her hair was in loose curls and fanned around her face. She had long gold earrings and a matching gold necklace that went to below her bust.

Jacob stood up slowly looking her over appreciatively.

"Wow." Was all he said as she walked over to stand in front of him. She smiled at his reaction and looked down at the floor her face flushing.

"Thanks. So where are we going?" She asked taking his hand in hers and looking back up to meet his gaze.

"It's a secret! Come on." He grabbed his keys and their jackets, helping her put hers on and walked out to his car. He opened the door for her letting her sit down before walking over to the other side and getting in. He started the car and began driving towards their destination.

"You're really not going to tell me where we're going?" Kali asked as they got onto the closest highway leaving her little town.

"Nope." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes in response. They talked the rest of the way until Kali suddenly realized where they were going. It was a huge concert hall in the next town over. There were cars everywhere and signs for her favorite band.

"No way. We're going to see Daring Night? Are you serious?" Kali exclaimed excitedly. She knew they were coming but didn't have the money to buy the tickets.

"Merry Christmas, baby. I know it's a little early but they never responded to my phone call asking them to wait a couple of weeks." He joked as he pulled up in front of the building. The valet opened the door for Kali- she was still in shock. Jacob handed him the keys and wrapped his arm around her waist leading her inside.

"Thank you so much, Jacob. You have no idea how much this means to me! I have dreamed about seeing them in person since I was eleven years old." Kali said leaning into him. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. They got to the entrance and handing the guy standing by the metal detector their tickets. He looked them over and smiled.

"Ah, Mr. Black. Right this way." He pointed in the direction he wanted them to head. Kali looked up at Jacob confused. Was there a problem?

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said smiling. He was definitely up to something. They followed the man into the back of the building. He opened a door at the end of the hallway. Jacob walked behind her, placing his hand on the small of her back, leading her forward. When she stepped into the room she nearly fainted. They were back stage. The band was sitting around on different couches, as if they were waiting on her. They stood at her appearance.

"Hello, you must be Kali." The lead singer, Daniel, said first walking up to stand in front of her. "I'm Daniel." He introduced himself unnecessarily, as if Kali didn't know who he was.

"H-hi..." She stuttered out realizing she could let go of his hand. The rest of the band came up and introduced themselves. She was smiling so broadly by the time they had all said hello. She turned to Jacob in amazement.

"How did you do this?" She asked taking his hand in hers.

"I called a couple of people. Told them about your obsession and how much they've helped you through." He placed his forehead on hers and his hands on both sides of her face. "You deserve this, enjoy this night." He kissed her softly and pulled away looking back at the band.

"So Kali, twenty posters?" Daniel asked with a laugh and Kali could feel her face turn a bright shade for red. She turned around slowly to face him.

"Ha, um, yeah. I just want to say, you guys have helped me through so much. When I was younger I lost a brother, he was only three years old, I was eleven. I had a really hard time dealing with it and one day your song, Never Let Go, came on and I could really relate to all the pain and sadness in the song. I want to say thank you so much for all that you do, y'all are an amazing band and filled with such goodness that no one could ever denied." Kali finished her speech and felt Jacob's hands on her shoulders.

"You never told me that." He whispered to her. She turned to face him.

"It's not something I liked to talk about, usually a buzz killer. But now you know." She shrugged her shoulders and looked back at Daniel and the rest of the band.

Daniel looked stunned but walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, she hugged him back shocked that this moment was happening.

"I have never heard a story like that. I had no idea the influence our music would make on anyone. But I'm so glad that we could help you. I can't even imagine what you went through." He pulled away and looked Kali in the eyes. "You're amazing. Never forget that!"

"Ten minutes guys!" A guy came into the room and yelled leaving just as quickly.

"Well, that's us. It was a pleasure to meet you. Really. Write you're email and phone number down, I really want to keep in touch." He handed her a pad of paper and pin where she filled out her information.

"Thank you so much for meeting with me! Break a leg!" She smiled handing him the pad back and turning towards Jacob and walking with him out the door they came in. The original guy that led them before was standing outside the door waiting for them. He then led them to the audience to their seats.

"Front row? Jacob, you really shouldn't have gone through all this trouble." Kali said feeling guilty. Her present to him wasn't nearly this extravagant.

"Um, actually I paid for tickets a couple of rows back." Jacob explained sheepishly.

"These are courtesy of Daring Night. Enjoy your night." He pointed to our sits in the middle of the first row removing the "Reserved" signs and they sat down.

"Jacob, I'm sorry I never told you about my brother. I didn't hide it from you intentionally, I really haven't talked about it in so long, I just never felt the need to." Kali sad holding his hand in hers.

"I know. We have all the time in the world to learn everything about each other." He replied, thinking about all the secrets he had hid from her. He just hoped that she would be understanding over why he hid them for so long and why.

They faced the stage as they announced Daring Night onto the stage. They enjoyed the show, standing the whole time. Kali didn't even care about her aching feet, she was just so happy to be in this moment with the man she loved. She couldn't wait to meet his family. Whoever raised him had to be good people.

"This one goes out to a very special friend of mine, I had the pleasure of meeting her today and hearing her story. She is truly one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Kali, this is for you." Daniel announced and the band began the song she described earlier. She felt the tears well in her eyes, all of the emotion flowing out at one time. She felt sadness for the loss of her brother, but at the same time happiness for this moment and where she was in her life.

When the show ended the crowd cheered loudly, Kali and Jacob included. They sat in their seats for a long time, until the audience emptied out.

"Thank you. This was the most amazing night of my life. I couldn't have wished for more." Kali leaned over and kissed Jacob softly.

"You are more than welcome. I would do anything for you." He looked around noticing they were the only ones left. "You hungry?" She nodded and they both jumped up. Kali taking her shoes off in the process. "Oh, here." Jacob leaned down and took his comfortable shoes off. "Wear these."

"Jake, they're going to be too big!" She laughed as he crouched down and placed them on her feet. They were too big, like clown shoes. "I don't mind going bear foot!" He looked up at her and smiled.

"How about this." He stood abruptly, knocking Kali's knees out from underneath her. Then swooping his arm under her back to carry her.

"Ah!" Kali exclaimed wrapping her arms around his neck. "That works too." She placed her head in the crook of his neck kissing him tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you too." It wasn't long before they were outside of his car, he placed her carefully in the seat before walking around to the driver's side and getting in. He started the car, turning the heat on, he wasn't cold but knew Kali would be.

"Where to?" He asked looked over at her.

"Um, Riverfront?" Kali suggest. He nodded and threw the car into gear. Riverfront was Kali's favorite seafood restaurant. It was a silent drive. Kali was exhausted but was trying to stay awake. They pulled up in front of the restaurant. Jacob carried her inside, the waitress looked at them funny before recognizing Kali.

"Oh hey, girl! How have you been? I haven't seen you since high school!" The girl who Kali remembered but couldn't place a name to her face.

"Hey! I've been good, it has been a long time! How are you doing?" Kali asked politely noticing the nametag, Chelsea, was her name.

"I've been good. Got married," She flashed her left hand to see a modest ring on her finger. "I have one son. But it's been nice. Let me show y'all to your table." She grabbed two menus and headed outside onto a wooden porch over the water. The bridge was visible and the streetlights reflected off the water creating a romantic feel to the environment.

Jake placed Kali down in a chair and sat across from her. Chelsea placed the menus in front of both of them. "What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have a Strawberry Daiquiri." Kali ordered.

"Water, please." Jacob order. When she walked away he looked at her. "Someone has to be responsible." He joked taking her hand in his. She rolled her eyes at him and looked down at the menu.

"I'm really excited to meet your family, Jake. I hope they like me." Kali stated not looking up form the menu. She was really worried that she was going to fly across the country and have his family not approve of Jacob's dating choices.

"Trust me. They are going to love you." He gave a small squeeze to her hand. She looked up quickly to see him smiling at her. She returned the smile just as Chelsea came back with their drinks. "You're waiter will be here shortly to take your orders." She said before walking back to her post.

"I can't believe she's married and has a kid! She was such a smart girl back in high school. She wanted to be a lawyer..." Kali looked off at where Chelsea disappeared too.

"Are you saying she's not smart for getting married?" Jacob asked, almost sounding offended. Kali turned to look at his face he looked hurt.

"Not necessarily not smart, but not exactly responsible. I mean she's obviously not getting paid very well here and she's raising a child. I just know that I've always wanted more for my kids and a minimum wage job just isn't going to cut it for me. So if waiting a few more years until I settle down means I can provide more for my family then so be it." She didn't mean to rant, but she also wanted Jacob to understand that she didn't plan on getting married any time soon.

"Ah." Was all he said. She didn't know what to say to that so she looked back down at her menu to decide what she wanted to eat. A couple of minutes of an awkward silence, that neither of them were used to having with each other, past before their waiter came over. He was a man around his late twenties to early thirties with dark hair and tan complexion.

"Good evening guys, my name is Caleb and I'll be your waiter tonight. Can I start you off with an appetizer?" He pulled out a pad of paper and pin. Kali was about to decline when Jacob interrupted her.

"Yes, can we get an order of the crab dip, please?" He ordered his voice flat of any emotion. The waiter nodded his head telling them he would put that in and be back to get our entree orders.

"Jacob, I don't know what I said to offend you...but I honestly didn't mean it in that way. You know that right?" Kali asked reaching to place her hand on his, he started to move away but decided to keep his hand on the table.

"I work a minimum wage job." He didn't look up from where their hands met.

"Jake-"

"No, no. You're right. I've always said the same thing. That I want more for my children." He looked up to meet her gaze. "But I can't do that. Things didn't really work out like the way I had planned a couple of years ago. I didn't graduate high school, and at the time I didn't think anything of it. Where I come from, it's not that big of a deal if you decide to not go to college and work out of your garage, fixing people's cars. I can't provide a lot of money. I had to save every dime I made that didn't pay the bills for those tickets tonight. Not that I'm complaining, like I said earlier, I'd do anything for you. But I'm never going to make a ton of money, and I'm sorry now that I didn't make more of an effort in school." Kali had tears in her eyes before he finished talking. He placed his hand on her cheek. "No, I didn't say all that to make you feel bad! I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into. What you see is what you get."

"That's all I want, Jacob! I've never asked for more than you. I don't care what job you have or how much money you make. That's never been important to me, you could be a bum for all I care! I love _you_ , Jake." She was trying to hold the sobs in but a few escaped her. He stood up and walked to stand next to her, he then crouched down so he was level with her and wrapped her in his arms.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." He cooed to her, rubbing her head as she cried into his shoulder.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't normally get this emotional. It's been a crazy long day." Kali finally said when she had calmed down. He pulled away and looked at her, wiping the tears from her face.

"I love you. And I'll try to be a better man."

"No. You're perfect just the way you are. Don't change a thing about yourself for me." She responded placing her hands on both sides of his face. They kissed each other briefly before they heard someone cleared their throat behind them. They pulled away and attempted to compose themselves.

"Don't mean to interrupt, do you need a few more minutes?" Caleb asked as Jacob went back to his seat.

"No, I think we're ready." Kali answered, the both ordered their meal and Caleb walked away.

"Okay, no more sad stuff. We leave tomorrow afternoon at one. Your dad said he would drop us off, and my friend, Sam, is going to be picking us up." Jacob explained.

"Sounds good!" Just then Caleb came back with their appetizer. They began eating and just enjoyed being with each other, not worrying about everything else that had happened that night. They continued with their meal, Jacob talking mostly this time. He told Kali tons of stories about his childhood and of all the people she would meet.

Jacob debated whether to tell Kali about the Cullens or not. He decided he might as well, she would probably meet them at some point. He steered away from the vampire thing, however.

He told her about Carlisle being a very devoted doctor in Forks, his loving wife. Then he told her the known story in Forks, of their five adopted children, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward. Then came Bella. This was the hardest for him to talk about, he didn't want to lie to Kali. He wanted her to know that he did use to have feelings for Bella, but he also wanted her to understand those feeling were non-existed since the moment he laid eyes on Kali. So he did, he told her about their childhood together, how they grew closer when Edward left her. Then the rivalry between Edward and him, their engagement, and eventually him leaving.

"That's why you ran away? Because Bella and Edward were getting married?" She asked genuinely curious.

"Yes. I couldn't handle being around them. I was too unhappy with myself. But I want you to know, I don't feel anything towards her now. I'm actually happy for them, I'm glad they got married and can live their lives together. Because I have you to live mine with. And I couldn't ever ask for more than that." Jacob explained sincerely. Kali smiled and nodded her head.

"I know, Jacob. But it's natural to still have feeling for Bella, she was your first love. Nothing can ever change that. I have no problem with that fact."

"First love? I guess I never though of it that way. Who was yours?" Jacob asked smirking at Kali.

"My first love?" He nodded. "Hm, I guess as sad as this is. You are." Jacob raised his eyebrows at that. "Yeah, I dated Derrick for three years, and I guess I _thought_ I was in love with him at the time. But ever since being with you, I know what real love is, and what I had with Kevin could never raise a candle to what I have now." They smiled at each other for a long time, they were interrupted by Kali's phone.

"Sorry," She mumbled to Jacob as she reached in her purse and pulled out her phone. "Hello?" She answered. It was her father, he was just calling to double check the time he needed to pick them up. When she hung up she looked back over at Jacob. "We should probably leave, it's getting pretty late." He nodded, they had already paid the bill so they stood and headed back towards Jacob's house.

When the pulled into the driveway, Jacob walked over to pick Kali up, she still had her shoes off, and his driveway was gravel. He carried her inside, managing to unlock the door with her in his arms. Once inside he set her down and she walked herself into his bedroom.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pooped. I'm gonna sleep so well tonight!" She said throwing herself on to his bed. He smiled down at her and laid beside her.

"Are you sure you want to go to sleep already?" He whispered in her ear as he placed small butterfly kissed down the back of her ear and her neck. She moaned into him.

"Hm, what did you have in mind?" She asked placing her hand on his cheek.

"I can show better than I can tell you." He pulled her on top on him so she was straddling his waist.

"I guess I could stay up for a few more minutes." She giggled as he unzipped her dress. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Minutes? Baby, this is going to take all night." She laughed loudly as the rolled them over and made her feel more loved than she had her entire life.

Jacob woke up to the sound of his alarm clock, telling him it was nine o'clock. He looked down to see Kali smiling sleepily up at him.

"Good morning." He greeted and kissed her forehead.

"Good morning." She rolled over and stretched, the blanket fell ever so slightly. Jacob's eyes roamed over her body not going unnoticed by Kali.

"Can I help you?" She smirked pulling the covers back so she could stand.

"Yes, yes you can actually." He sat up and leaned over with his long arms he pulled her on top of him. She giggled and attempted to pull away.

"Stop! We don't have time. Plus, I'm still sore!" She got up and walked into the bathroom, turning the shower on. "Jacob, go pack! We can't be late!" She called out getting a groan in response. She rolled her eyes to herself and continued to shower, attempting to untangle her hair. She was contempt when she heard the sound of Jake getting clothes out of his drawers.

When she was done she stepped out and grabbed a towel, drying her body and wrapping her hair up. She walked back into Jacob's room to her suitcase to get her clothes out.

"This would be a lot easier if you were always naked, you know." Jacob said looking up from the suitcase he was zipping up. She laughed.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring clothes into the bathroom. Unless you want me to go to the airport like this?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Definitely not. I think your father might have a stroke." He laughed to himself and walked into the bathroom clothes in hand. He hopped in the shower as Kali finished getting ready. She decided to keep the clothing simple, jeans and a T-shirt. She grabbed a pair of flip-flops knowing she would have to take them off once going through security. She grabbed her hair dryer and got to work on her hair, by the time she was done, Jacob was out of the shower and already dressed. She laughed when she realized they were both wearing the Daring Night shirts they got the night before at the concert.

"Well one of us is going to have to change." Jacob stated placing one hand on his hip. Kali burst out into laughter.

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes at him for the second time that morning.

"I'll go call your dad and tell him we're ready." He said walking out of the room.

She finished with her hair and started on her make-up. Normally she wouldn't worry about such things when traveling. However, she was meeting Jacob's family for the first time when she got off the plane and wanted to make a good impression.

He came back in, "He's here, I'll load up the car. Which bags are you taking?" Jacob asked peeking his head into the bathroom as she cleaned up her stuff.

"The two suitcases by the foot of the bed." She answered walking out with him, putting her toiletries into the smaller carry on bag. Jacob grabbed them and walked outside. Kali followed him into the living room where her dad was standing.

"Hey Dad." Kali greeted him walking over and giving him a hug.

"Hey, darling. Are you excited?" He asked not letting go of her.

"Very much so." She finally pulled away looking him in the eye. "Thank you for driving us." She squeezed his shoulder and smiled. He replied with a smile back.

"Ready?" Jacob asked from the porch. They both nodded and headed to the airport. They had a quick goodbye when Michael dropped them off and headed in. They went through security and were currently waiting at the gate for their flight. They were about an hour early. Kali's legs bounced in anticipation, Jacob noticed and placed a hand on her knee.

"It's going to be okay, Kali. I promise they're going to love you." He smiled giving her a kiss. She smiled nervously and nodded. They finally boarded the flight and took off on time. The entire way all Kali could think about was the man sitting next to her and how lucky she was that he decided to walk into _her_ father's restaurant. The man next to her could only think about how he was going to tell Kali everything he had been hiding since they met. He was terrified over her reaction, he could only hope that she would be understanding enough to allow him to explain everything.

When they landing Jacob couldn't keep the smile off his face. His excitement radiated off onto Kali, making her just as excited. They got off the plane and collected their bags and walk out to the pick up line.

"Sam!" Jacob screamed as he spotted Sam next to an old black truck. He turned towards the voice and smiled when he saw Jake towering over everyone else. He waved and Jacob led Kali toward Sam. When they reached him, Sam embraced Jacob in a hug.

"Oh, Jake! It's so good to see you again! How are you?" Sam asked once they pulled away.

"I'm good, I'm good. Sam, I'd like you to meet Kali. Kali this is Sam, he's the chief of our tribe." Jacob explained as Sam took Kali's dainty hand into his huge calloused hand. Jacob and Sam exchanged a meaningful look that Kali didn't know how to explain.

"It's nice to meet you Sam. I've heard a lot about you." Kali said politely. He nodded.

"All good, I hope." He joked looking pointedly back at Jacob. They laughed briefly. "Come on, I'll help you get the bags." He said grabbing one of Kali's suitcases. The boys finished loading all the bags and got in to the truck. Jacob decided to ride in the back with Kali wrapping his arm around her shoulders pulling her into his side.

"You're dad hasn't stopped talking about this visit since you told him you were coming home." Sam joked from the front seat. This made Jacob smile. He really did miss his father, and knew his disappearance was hard on him.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to see him again." They enjoyed the car ride through the small roads covered in trees that had no brown left on them. They were all covered in moss giving the forest a mystical feel.

"This place is beautiful." Kali commented leaning into Jacob. It was a light rain outside, normal according to Jacob.

"Yeah, it's home." Jacob replied wrapping his arms around her noticing the goose bumps on her arms. "You did bring a jacket right?" He questioned.

"Um, yeah. It's in my suitcase." He nodded. A few minutes later they pulled into a gravel driveway in front of a quaint house. Jacob looked down at Kali and smiled.

"You ready?" He asked. She nodded slowly and they got out of the car. Jacob and Sam grabbed their bags and led her into the house.

"Dad?" Jacob yelled once inside and out of the rain.

"Jacob?" A deep raspy voice came from their left behind a wall. An older man in a wheel chair rolled out. He had long salt and pepper hair that went past his shoulder, his skin was a deep brown and shared Jacob's kind eyes. Kali assumed this was Jacob's father.

"Dad!" Jacob became a boy again. He dropped the bag on the floor and wrapped his arms tightly around his father. She saw tears in his eyes, a side she didn't see very often.

"It's great to see you, son. I'm glad you came home." They embraced each other from a long time before Jacob seemed to remember Kali was there. He quickly wiped his face and pulled away.

"Dad, this is Kali." Jacob said grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. "Kali this is my dad, Billy." She smiled warmly at him holding out her hand. Billy took it in both of his hands.

"Kali. It's so nice to finally meet you. Jacob't hasn't stopped talking about you on every phone conversation." He said smiling.

"It's great to meet you, as well. Thank you for letting me stay here in your home." He shook his head, laughing.

"Of course, dear. It's not a problem at all." Kali smiled again and looked over at Jacob.

"Hey, is there anywhere I can freshen up at?" She asked, he nodded and pointed her in the right direction. "Thanks." She excused herself and the boys walked into the living room. Sam and Jake taking a seat.

"So, you finally imprinted, huh?" Sam said slapping Jake on the back.

Jake laughed. "Yeah, looks like I had to run across the freaking' country to find her, but I did."

"Does she know?" Sam asked, not needing to explain.

"Not yet, I figured she could come to a council meeting and hear all the stories first. I think that would be the easiest way she could understand. She's not like the other girls. She didn't grow up hearing our history, this is going to sound crazy to her." Jacob explained. This was what he came up with on the plane ride over.

"I agree. You're going to have to break this to her slowly." Billy chipped in. Jake nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm sure you too would like to rest for a little while-"

"Actually, I think we were going to go eat, would you like to join us?" Jacob interrupted. Billy nodded and Kali walked back out of the bathroom.

"So, what are we doing?" Kali asked standing behind the chair Jacob was in. She leaned down and draped her arms around his chest.

"Eating!" He exclaimed placing his hand on her forearm. "You hungry?" He asked looking up at her.

"Starving. All they gave us was stinking crackers!" She smiled and stood back up straight.

"Well, I got to be getting back to Emily. I don't like to leave her alone for long in her condition." Jacob raised his eyebrows at him. Was there something wrong with Emily?

"She's pregnant! I assumed Billy would have told you." Sam explained cutting his eyes towards Billy. He simply shrugged.

"I forgot." Was all he said.

"That's great, Sam! I'm so happy for you guys! When is she due?" Jacob asked.

"In February, so we still have a while, but you never know with these things. I'll see you around?" Jacob nodded as Sam walked out the door.

"So where too?" Billy asked.

"I know just the place." Jacob said grabbing the back of Billy's wheelchair and pushing him outside with Kali following along.

They got into an older car, it was the car Jacob had told Kali about. A Volkswagen Rabbit that he build from scrap. Kali sat in the back seat so that Billy could have more space, much to his disagreement, and Jacob drove them through the small country roads. Billy asked both Kali and Jake tons of questions. For Jake it was to catch up with, how he'd been, what he had been doing with his time, etc. And for Kali it was to get to know her, where she was from, her family, what college she went to, what she was studying, any and everything. Kali began to feel she was monopolizing the conversation so she tried asking Billy questions as well, to which he answered happily. She could see where Jacob's positive personality came from.

It wasn't long before they pulled in front of a small rustic diner named Throwback. Jacob helped Billy into his wheelchair as Kali examined the area. This small town was truly a beautiful place, completely different from her home. It was a welcomed change.

Jacob pushed Billy inside with Kali walking by his side. They seated themselves at a four-seated table, removing one of the chairs for Billy. An older lady with graying hair and same complexion as Billy and Jacob walked over with a friendly smile.

"Hey, boys! Jacob, it's been so long! I thought you fell of the planet!" She leaned down to hug Jake's shoulders. He laughed.

"Yeah, I've been doing some...traveling I guess you could say. Donna, this is my girlfriend Kali. Kali this Donna." Jacob introduced them, Kali reached out her hand to Donna but Donna simply walked over to hug her as well. This seem to catch Kali off guard but she hugged her back immediately.

"It's so nice to meet you, Kali. I don't think I've ever met one of Jacob's girlfriends!" She joked. "You must be something really special." She pulled out of the hug placing one hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Now what can I get for you tonight?"

"I'll have a water, please." Kali ordered. Billy and Jacob both got cokes and Donna walked off to get them their drinks.

"Something special, huh?" Kali asked smirking at Jake.

"Yeah, well you are. And don't forget it." He replied winking at her. When Donna came back with their drinks they all placed their order.

"So how long are you staying, Jacob?" Billy asked.

"Until December 28th. We promised Kali's family we would be home for New Year's Eve since they're giving up Christmas." Jacob answered placing his hand on Kali's knee. She smiled up at him lovingly.

"Oh, good, good. So we have plenty of time together!" Billy's voice echoed with happiness it made Jacob's heart ache. He was so selfish when he left he had no idea how it would affect his father or his pack. He wanted to stay so badly, but he couldn't leave Kali. This was something that they were going to have to discuss once she graduated.

They continued with the small talk, Kali loved Billy the more time they spent talking about random things. He was so wise and so kind in everything he said it intrigued her all the more. She had never met anyone like Billy, aside from Jacob of course. They had very similar habits, they both ate the same way and had the same enthusiasm in their voice when they talked about their passion. For Jacob, it usually involved cars. But for Billy, it was his heritage and their tribe. He told Kali a couple of stories from their past and he could tell how much it interested her so he answered all her question effortlessly.

"You know, Kali. If you really want to learn more, we have a council meeting every month and tell all about our history to new members and even the old. You and Jacob should come."

"That would be lovely! Can we?" She directed the last part to Jacob gripping his hand that was still placed on her knee. He looked at her in amazement, as if he could ever tell her no to anything.

"Of course, I was going to invite you myself if Dad hadn't beaten me to it." Jacob replied causing Kali to grin from ear to ear.

"Great! Oh I'm so excited!" Kali said going back to her cheeseburger.

"I'm glad you take such a great interest." Billy responded with approval in his tone. Jacob could tell he was already in love with Kali, just like he knew he would be.

"I've always been a big history lover. It's even better to hear it from someone that grew up with the stories. I take history classes all the time, but it's taught from someone who learned it from a book or another professor who did the same. It's so much more interesting coming from someone that grew up hearing these stories from their parents and grandparents, how the stories just come to life. It's truly amazing."

"Word of mouth is the greatest form of communication, it allows us to relate to one another on a different level. I'm glad I still have that opportunity to tell these stories to my children and possibly my grandchildren one day." Kali smiled at that thought. Her and Jacob with two small black haired children gathered around Billy's living room, him telling stories of their people. It was a happy thought to have and she couldn't get the image out of her mind for the rest of the night. She knew Jacob could tell something was on her mind but didn't ask until they got back to the house and said goodnight to Billy. They walked into Jacob's old room, which only had a twin size bed so it was going to be a tight squeeze, and started unpacking small items.

"Is everything okay?" Jacob asked walking up behind Kali and wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned into his warmth and moved her head to the left so he could place his in the crook of her neck.

"Everything is perfect, Jacob. I couldn't be any happier than I am in this very moment." She said with a sigh. He place small kisses up and down her neck and she could feel him smiling.

"Good, you just seemed a little distracted toward the end of dinner."

"It was something your dad said. He mentioned telling his stories to grandchildren." She felt Jacob freeze and she smiled at his reaction.

"Well he could have been talking about Rachel or Rebecca they're both older and with someone..." He talked quickly afraid what his dad said had scared her.

She giggled. "No, no. It didn't bother me. It actually made me really happy to think about. I know I kinda freaked you out last night about children and getting married. But I didn't mean that I _never_ wanted to get married and have kids. I do. And the thought of having children with you makes my heart so happy I could just die. I kept picturing two black haired children sitting around your dad with the same amazement I had tonight." He hugged her tighter to him never wanting to let go.

"I love you." He said simply, kissing her neck again.

"I love you too."


	4. Chapter 4

"What should I wear?" Kali called from the bathroom to Jacob who was sitting in his bedroom on his bed.

"Clothes." He sighed. They were going to be late.

She poked her head out of the door, still in her undergarments.

"Oh really? I can't go like this?" She stepped outside of the bathroom showing her partially nude body. Jacob rolled his eyes at her silliness.

"Baby, it doesn't matter. It's not a fancy affair. It's on the beach!" Jacob exclaimed grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her into his room before Billy came out and had a heart attack.

"Fine. Jeans and a T-shirt it is!" She sighed deeply getting dressed.

"Okay, lets go. Dad!" He yelled the last part heading towards the living room as Kali tagged along behind him. They walked the short distance to the beach where Jacob had to take over pushing Billy's chair for him. They made it to a small circle of people, Kali had already been introduced to majority of them over the past week. There were still a few faces she didn't recognize, mostly women.

They all said hello and took their seats. People were roasting marshmallows, which Kali and Jacob quickly joined in on making a mess with the sticky goo. Jacob shoved one in Kali's face getting it all over her mouth and nose.

"Ah! Jake! Oh you're gonna get it now!" She grabbed a handful of sand and dropped it in his hair. Jacob stared at her with mock horror, which quickly turned into a look that told her to run. She screamed and jumped up running towards the ocean. Her short legs were nothing compared to Jacob's long stride he caught her quickly and picked her up in his arms swinging her around. She laughed uncontrollably, begging him to let her down.

"Please, I can't- I can't breathe!" She shouted as he continued to spin her around.

"Will you two cut it out?! We're about to start." Sam's voice boomed over Kali's screams. Jacob swiftly placed her on her feet.

"Damn, I wish I had that kind of control." Kali whispered.

"Trust me, baby. You do." He kissed her quickly then ruffled his hair getting sand all over Kali. She pouted and walked back over to where they were sitting. Jacob followed her sitting as close as possible, keeping her warm. It didn't take much for Billy to get everyone's attention. His voice was so soft but it claimed authority that everyone respected fully.

He began with the stories he told Kali the first night they met, of their ancestors and how they were linked to the wolves. He then began a story that was new to Kali, of the Cold Ones. The more he described these "cold ones" the more they sounded like an odd version of vampires. Kali was so enwrapped with every word Billy spoke she didn't realize she was gripping Jacob's hand with more force than necessary until he rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. She sat back up straight and mumbled an apology to him. He smiled back pulling her even tighter to his side.

The night seemed to fly by for Kali, hearing Billy and Old Quil tell the past of the Quileute tribe. She soon felt the sleepiness take over as she placed her hand on Jacob's should she could feel herself begin to drift off.

She woke up in Jacob's small bed. She searched the sheets to come up empty handed.

"Jake?" She called out softly, not knowing what time it was. There was no answer so she sat up and looked around. The sun was shining through the curtains telling her it was probably late morning to early afternoon. "Jake?" She called again, this time standing up and walking out into the living room. Billy was sitting in front of the television watching the sports channel, of course.

"Good morning...afternoon." Billy greeted looking over at her.

She smiled in response. "Good afternoon. What time is it?"

"A little before twelve thirty." He answered looking down at his watch.

"Oh, I didn't mean to sleep so late! Do you know where Jacob went?"

"He went to go visit some friends, but he left this note for you when you woke up." He reached over to the coffee table to pick up a folded piece of notebook paper and Kali walked over to take it from him.

"Thank you." She said and opened the paper quickly.

 _ **Good morning, baby. I hope you slept well and enjoyed yourself last night. I had to meet some friends today for lunch but please meet me in the woods behind the garage at 3 o'clock. I have something important we need to talk about.**_

 _ **Love you**_

She read the note over again and decided to go ahead and take a shower. Once she was washed and dressed she sat in the living room with Billy and talked about the coming up football game he was excited about. Kali didn't know much about sports but humored Billy with pretending to know what he was talking about.

When three o'clock came around she stood up, said goodbye to Billy, and headed out into the woods. She walked behind the makeshift garage and into the dense forest. She stood in a small clearing and waited. She couldn't take the suspension. Nothing good ever came from the phrase "we need to talk" and she was terrified what was going on. She ran through everything that happened last night to try and find what she did wrong that could possibly upset Jacob enough to break up with her after flying her all the way across the country to meet his family and friends. She came up blank, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

The feeling of someone wrapping their arms around her waist make her squeal before she realized it was Jake and laughed at herself.

She turned around and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Jeez, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She joked stepping into his arms, hugging his waist like a child hugs their parents. She couldn't live without Jake and couldn't stand the thought of breaking up now.

"Of course not." He laughed into her hair. "How did you sleep?"

"Good, you?"

"Fantastic." They continued to hug each other not saying anything else. Kali didn't want to bring it up, hoping he would forget wanting to break up with her. She felt him sigh underneath her and she new the inevitable was coming.

"Kali..." He started pulling her arms length from him so he could look in her eyes.

"Oh, God." She said under her breath. He raised his eyebrows at that. "You're really going to break up with me like this? Fly me all the way out here, get attached to you family and friends, and then dump me in the wet woods? What did I do-" he interrupted her rambling with his lips. They kissed passionately for longer than Kali could hope for. She threw herself into this kiss, thinking it would be their last.

When he finally pulled away she was panting for air and Jacob was laughing.

"What's so funny?" She exclaimed.

"I'm not breaking up with you, silly girl!" He pulled her to him again. "What in the world would give you that idea?"

"Well, in your note you said we needed to talk..." The look he gave her made her continue, "and then you started 'Kali...' nothing good ever comes from that."

"We do need to talk. But I'm more worried that _you_ are going to be the one that breaks up with _me._ " He took a deep breath, placing one finger on Kali's lips when she went to protest.

"You remember the stories from last night?" She nodded silently. "They're not just stories. They're all true." She gave a confused expression. Jacob took a step back, when Kali followed him he placed a hand on her shoulder giving her a pointed look to stay where she was. He walked about ten meters away and began to take off his clothes.

"Jacob! What are you doing?" Kali exclaimed looking around as if someone was watching.

"Proving something. Just please don't be scared, okay?" She didn't respond, just stared at him dumbfounded. He took a deep breath and his form seemed to shimmer, but the next blink of an eye he seemed to explode right in front of her and in his place a giant copper wolf the size of a large bear stood. Kali was completely frozen as she looked in front of her where her normal human boyfriend was standing. The wolf took a hesitant step toward her, in which she took a step back. The wolf dipped its head so she could look into its eyes. No, Jacob's eyes. It was Jacob's eyes that stared back at her.

"Jake?" She asked quietly. The wolf seemed to nod its head. She reached a hand out to touch its fur. The moment they made contact she knew it was her Jacob.

"What. The. Hell. All those stories were true?" She sat down on a near by rock, rethinking her entire life. Werewolves? Vampires? What else was there? She placed her head in her hands, her thoughts going a mile a minute. She felt a hand on her back and jumped slightly before she realized it was Jacob.

"Are you okay?" His voice was gentle moving his hand off of her back.

"My boyfriend...is a giant wolf...yeah, I'm okay." Her voice shook with every word. Everything she ever knew about the world she lived in was a lie. There was so much more out there than she could ever have known. They were silent for what felt like a lifetime. Jacob could tell she was obviously upset and didn't want to push her too far. He heard her soft sobs and felt his heart break.

"Kali, I'm so sorry. I wish I had told you sooner. I just didn't want you to jump to conclusions before you got to know me. I wanted you to know who I was, who I really am." He pulled her into his arms and she threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him.

"I'm not mad, Jacob. Not at all, I'm just so very confused. Werewolves? vampires? What else is out there that I was always told was fictional?" He rubbed her back as she let it all out. It didn't take long for her to calm down. She pulled back and quickly wiped her face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure this is _not_ the reaction you wanted." She laughed at herself.

"Are you really apologizing right now?" Jacob was dumbfounded by her reaction. He could handle her being angry for lying to her, but her feeling sorry because she was upset was not something he had prepared for.

"Well, I know that was hard for you to tell me, and I didn't really react very well." She was completely serious, that much Jacob could tell.

"You are so silly." He placed a hand softly on her cheek. "I'll tell you anything you want to know. I'm sure you have questions." She nodded slowly.

"Can we go eat and talk? I'm starving!" She said, her stomach growling as if to emphasize her point. They both laughed and stood.

"Of course. Let's get out of here."

"Um, Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to put your clothes back on..."He jumped, startled, realizing he never redressed himself. He quickly covered up while Kali watched, looking at Jacob in a whole new way. One that wasn't necessarily bad, just different. He looked so much older to her, wiser than she could ever be. He noticed her stare but didn't ask, he simply reached a hand out to her that she took happily.

"At least you didn't faint. I was worried there for a moment." He joked elbowing her lightly in the side. She rolled her eyes.

They walked out of the woods and back into the small house. Billy was nowhere to be seen. They made sandwiches and sat at the small kitchen table.

"Ask away." He said, taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.

"Hm, how old where you when you changed?"

"Sixteen."

"How old are you really?" He hesitated.

"Technically, I have only been alive for eighteen years. However," He said quickly when he saw her surprised look, "my body is the age of a twenty-five year old." She laughed at that.

"Okay, do you like...um, being..." She didn't know how to finish her thought without offending him, so she trailed off hoping he would understand what she was thinking.

"I hated it when I first changed. I hated who I was. I tried so hard to reject it. But Sam, our chief-"

"Oh my God. Sam is a werewolf too?" Kali exclaimed.

"...Yes. Sam went through this by himself. He was the first of our generation to change, so he had it worse than everyone. He became the chief of the tribe and now he helps everyone else get through it. He showed me all the good things we can do being who we are. After I accepted that, I began to enjoy it. More than being a human sometimes." Kali nodded along, soaking everything in.

"There's something else I should probably tell you about. You heard about imprinting last night. Do you remember?" Jacob reached across the table and took one of Kali's hands in both of his. She nodded looking up confused.

"Well, it's a lot more common than the stories lead on...I though it was never going to happen to me. That was until that day that I walked into your father's restaurant and laid my eyes on you. Then I knew you were the one I was meant to be with for the rest of my life," Kali's eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, wow." Was all she could say. She looked down at their hands intertwined together. "Jake, I-"

"I didn't say that to freak you out. I know you're young. Hell, I'm young too, but I have this weird wolf thing ruling me. But you are under no obligations, I don't want you to feel like you have to stay around. If at any point you are unhappy...I won't hold you here." Kali could tell it pained him to say that. She couldn't picture being with anyone else.

"You'll never have to worry about that. Jacob, I love you. And I plan on spending the rest of my time on this planet with you." They smiled at each other before Kali starting throwing even more questions at him.

They spent the rest of the day talking, Jacob answering ever question Kali could think of, laughing at some.

"So...what about silver? Would we have to get gold wedding bands?" Kali asked in all seriousness, she was shocked when she heard Jacob's booming laughter. She looked up sharply, not understanding what was so funny.

"What? I'm serious!"

"I know, I know." He continued to laugh. She folded her arms across her chest angrily. He finally calmed down and reached across the table to pull her arms away from her body, taking her hands in his own. "Sorry. I know this is hard for you. No. Silver doesn't both us, we can get silver rings if you like." She was quiet for minute before continuing with her questions.

By the time Billy got back from Charlie's house it was close to midnight. Charlie had drove Billy home so he stopped in to say hello to Jake.

Kali was asleep on the couch, her head resting in Jacob's lap. He was softly stroking her hair as he stared down at her sleeping form. He looked up to the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. He relaxed when he heard his father's voice mixed with a voice he recognized as Charlie's. When the door opened it revealed Billy rolling himself in, laughing at something Charlie said.

"Hey!" Charlie boomed when he saw Jacob. Jacob flinched at his volume and looked down at Kali to make sure she was still asleep. Charlie followed the direction of his eyes and noticed the small figure resting in his lap.

"Oh, sorry!" He whispered. He took a seat across from Jacob on the small reclining chair. "Is this the girl Billy keeps talking about?" Jacob nodded throwing a smile in Billy's direction.

"She's an amazing young lady." Billy stated simply, he wheeled over next to Charlie.

"You know, Bella hasn't stopped asking about you since she found out you were in town. You should give her a call." Charlie changed the subject abruptly. This threw Jacob off guard. He knew he would have to face Bella at some point, he was just hoping for a little more time. He looked down at Kali and knew that there were no feelings left for Bella other than friendship. He faced Charlie again and smiled.

"That would be nice. I'll give her a call tomorrow morning. But I think I should bring Kali to bed, I'm sure this isn't very comfortable." Charlie nodded and stood slowly. Jacob maneuvered Kali into his arms so he could pick her up and rose. Charlie patted him on the shoulder.

"It was good to see you. I hope you'll stop by at some point before you leave." Jacob smiled and walking into his bedroom, laying Kali down on his small bed. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed in with her pulling her as close to him as possible. He fell asleep quickly, happy with how accepting the woman in his arms was. He was truly the luckiest guy in the world and in that moment he couldn't have wished for more.

Jacob woke up to the sound of banging in the kitchen. He sat up with at start and searched the room for Kali. Not seeing her he jumped up and ran into the kitchen where he saw her picking up pots and pans that must have been the source of the noise. She looked up when she saw his feet walking towards her.

"Sorry! I was trying to be quite but they all fell out of the cabinet!" She whispered. For the first time Jacob looked at the clock. It was only seven in the morning.

"Kali what are you doing up so early?" He questioned as he bent down to help her pick up all the pots.

"I got hungry..." She answered sheepishly. He chuckled and began organizing the cabinet so it wouldn't make any more noise. He handed her the pan she wanted and she got back to work on her breakfast. "Want any?" She asked looked down as he finished up.

He nodded and placed the last pan in the cabinet. He rose slowly and moved to stand behind Kali. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his head in the crook of her neck. Placing small butterfly kisses up and down her neck and behind her ear. She smiled and leaned her head away from him to give him more access. He began to nibble on her ear and she let out a soft moan before she heard a noise from Billy's room. Jacob didn't move though.

"Jacob! You father is awake!" She said attempting to pull away from his grip.

"So?" He asked in between kisses.

"So! I don't want to look like a hoe in front of your father!" He finally stepped back right as the door opened.

"Good morning! Surprised you managed to pull this one out of bed! Usually sleeps until mid-day!" Billy gestured toward Kali causing Jake to chuckle.

"She actually woke me up with her banging around in here." He answered leaning against the counter top. Kali rolled her eyes at him as Billy chuckled and wheeled himself over to the kitchen table.

"Well, if you two are done picking on me, would you like some breakfast, Billy?" She asked grabbing the carton of eggs from the refrigerator.

"Yes, please." He grabbed the remote and cut the television on to the local news station as Kali continued to cook with Jacob standing next to her rubbing her back softly. She tried to contain herself with Billy just a few feet away but she couldn't always hold back the sighs.

When she was done cooking, her and Jacob set the small round table and began eating. Billy seemed impressed with her cooking, which made her feel better. Her mother use to always tell her the way to a man's heart was through his stomach.

"Thank you, Kali. That was great!" Billy said taking his plate to the kitchen.

"You are very welcome." She replied taking a bite out of her toast. He rolled himself into the living room, leaving her and Jacob alone in the kitchen.

"So what do you want to do today?" Kali asked.

"Well...I was actually thinking that I could introduce you to the Cullens today. What do you think?" Kali swallowed her drink hard and looked up quickly.

"The vampires?" She whispered looking around paranoid. He chuckled at her reaction and nodded.

"Yes, the vampires. But they're good, remember? Well, as good as they can be."

"...Okay." She breathed deeply. "What time?" Her full attention was directed toward her plate as she tried to calm herself down. It was like Jacob said, they were good vampires, they didn't hunt humans.

"I'm not sure. I'm going to go give them a call." He stood up and grabbed the phone from its stand.

"Don't wake them up! They're probably still a sleep!" She said, quickly standing up reaching for the phone.

"Vampires don't sleep." Was all he said before dialing the number. The phone rang once before a female voice picked up, it wasn't a voice Jacob recognized, however.

"Bella?" He asked suddenly not so sure of himself.

"Jacob? Is that you?" Her voice jumped with excitement on the other side.

"Yes, it's me...You sound different. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is perfect. I heard you were coming back into town!"

"Yeah, that's kinda why I called you. I was wondering if I could come over, say hello to everyone. There is someone I want you to meet." He looked down at Kali with a smile.

"Of course, of course! Come whenever!"

"Okay, we'll be there around ten!"

"Great! See you then." He hung up the phone still slightly bothered by Bella's voice.

"See, not so bad." He said grabbing Kali's hand. She smiled slightly up at him and rose up on her tip-toes to kiss his lips lightly. Jacob wasn't having that, he reached down to scoop her up in his arms. He crushed her to his body as his lips devoured hers. They stood like this for a while before Kali needed to pull away to catch her breath. When she was able to talk again she told him she wanted to go take a shower. He raised his eyebrows seductively and she rolled her eyes at him. He placed her back down on her feet and she strolled through the living room and into the bathroom.

He sat on the couch tuning into whatever Billy was watching on the television. Kali walked over to stand behind him, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his chest. She placed her lips by his ear and whispered.

"I'll be in the shower...if you need me." He perked up at that and she placed a small kiss behind his ear before walking away slowly.

"Did you see that? What a bogus call!" Billy's voice jerked his gaze away from the retreating form of Kali.

"Yeah...ridiculous." He sat there for a minute listening to his father rant about the new refs this year. He nodded silently until he heart the shower turn on and Kali's voice softly singing to herself. Billy didn't seem to notice the difference. So he stood and walked into the small bathroom. He could see her silhouette behind the sheer shower curtain.

He stripped down and joined her in the cramped space, she looked at him over her shoulder as the water ran down her naked body, he pressed himself against her back and kissed down her shoulder.

"Hey." He mumbled against her skin. She smiled and turned around in his arms. He hugged her to him as they let the water crash down on them.

"I'm scared." She said quietly. She knew he would hear her.

"Of what, baby?"

"That they won't like me. Especially Bella." She buried her head in his chest. She felt him bounce with laughter. She looked up outrage.

"What?!"

"I'm taking you to meet a coven of vampires, and you're scared they won't like you?" He placed both hands on either side of her face. She nodded slowly, confused why that was funny.

"Trust me, it's impossible not to love you." He kissed her forehead and continued to show her just how much he loved her.

Kali's leg bounced in anticipation as Jacob drove toward the Cullen's house. He reached over to place his hand on her thigh. They exchanged a meaningful glance before she took his hand in both of hers. She rubbed small circles on the back of his hand.

"I love you." She mumbled.

"I love you too." She continued to draw different patterns to keep her mind busy.

"I'm really glad you told me about your heritage, I feel like I finally know you completely. All this time it felt like you were hiding something from me but I never wanted to push you to tell me." She looked at him smiling. "And now you have and I just feel so much closer to you." He returned his smile and turned his attention back to the road ahead of him.

"I was worried that you wouldn't give me the chance. That you would crack me up to be some crazy person. Then with the whole imprinting thing I didn't want to come off to strong. So I had to hold back so much of what I felt because I didn't want you to freak out on me." She laughed at that. She would have thought he was crazy.

He pulled on a dirt road that seemed to stretch for miles. It was framed with large standing trees giving the driveway an eerie feel. She gripped his hand even tighter.

"Breathe." He said once they pulled up in front of a large house that screamed money. She followed his orders, taking a deep breath before he got out of the car and walked around to open her door. She stepped out slowly, once out of the car Jacob wrapped his arm around her waist and lead her up the stairs. A man a little taller than her with very pale skin and blonde hair opened the door before Jake even had a chance to knock. He was gorgeous, probably the most attractive man she had ever seen.

"Hello, Jacob. It's so good to see you again." They smiled and shook hands, he then directed his attention to Kali. "And who is this?" He reached his hand out for hers, which she took, his hands felt like ice.

"Carlisle, this is Kali. Kali this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen." She smiled when she heard the word doctor. Of course he was a doctor, he was perfect.

"It's so nice to meet you." Kali said politely, she almost forgot that he was a vampire.

"The pleasure is all mine. Please come in, everyone is very excited to see you." He stepped to the side letting Jacob lead her inside. Her breath was taken away the moment she stepped in the doorway. The whole back wall was a huge glass window showing the beautiful view of the green woods behind them. The layout of the house had a very open feeling.

"Wow." She breathed before someone stepped into her view. She was short with spiky black hair.

"Hello. I'm Alice! It's so nice to meet you." She said before she wrapped Kali in a hug. Kali froze by the sudden movement but quickly relaxed so she didn't offend Alice and placed her arms around her as well in a quick embrace.

"Alice, I think you frightened her." Kali heard a male voice with a subtle southern accent come from behind Alice. She looked up to see another blonde male with pale skin. He was also very beautiful, but he had more of a dark feel about him, unlike Carlisle.

"Right, sorry." She pulled away abruptly taking a step back.

"I'm Jasper." He introduced himself, placing his hand out for Kali to shake. She did with a smile. Another couple came down the stairs, the girl looked like she stepped off the cover of a magazine with her flowing long blonde hair and perfect face. Her body was every guys dream and Kali couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious around her. She introduced herself as Rosalie. The man next to her looked like some kind of body-builder with giant muscles. He had short brown curly hair and kind looking gold eyes. Now that Kali stopped to look around they all had gold eyes and pale skin. She then remembered that this was a feature Jacob had told her about, only the vampires that fed on humans had red eyes. She shuddered at the thought of staring into something so unnerving.

The next woman to walk up to them had brown hair that came a little below her shoulders. She had a heart shaped face and had a motherly air about her. She introduced herself as Esme, Carlisle's wife. The only two people left, Kali assumed had to be Edward and Bella. They were beautiful, they all were. Edward walked forward slowly and shook Kali's hand greeting her with a smile. Bella did the same but seemed to be looking Kali up and down, this made her even more uncomfortable. Jacob finally came to stand next to her, placing a protective arm around her waist.

"Kali, this is Edward and Bella. Edward, Bella, this is Kali. My girlfriend." Bella looked up at the word seeming to ask a question with her eyes. He nodded. "Yes, I did imprinted on her, and yes she knows everything." They all seemed to let out a synchronized breath.

"Well, we're happy to hear that Jake. When Bella said you had someone for us to meet we assumed it was something along that nature." Carlisle explained, everyone around them seemed relieved.

Jacob finally looked over Bella for the first time and couldn't help but notice the obvious difference.

"Bella...you- you're not human anymore." He stuttered out. Her skin was paler than normal, no more color in her cheeks. Her eyes were no longer brown but a bright gold and her face fit the rest of the Cullen's around her.

"I-I thought you knew..."She answered sheepishly. She seemed to be anticipating an angry reaction. But Jacob had been expecting this to happen at some point and now that he was happy with Kali he couldn't be angry at Bella's decision. He knew what he would go through to be with Kali forever if he could.

"Well, I'm happy that you're happy." Was all he said earning a smile from Bella.

They spent the day at the Cullen's house, Kali really enjoyed getting to know everyone. They all told her their stories of their human lives, and how they became vampires. Carlisle stunned her the most, everything he went through trying to reject who he was and what he had become. He was truly amazing in her eyes, she spent most of the time there bombarding him with questions.

He had just finished explaining what made him want to become a doctor when she realized she was being rude.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrogate you. I'm just so curious." She blushed and looked down at her hands. He heard his melodic laugh and looked up.

"Don't worry about it. I've told my story many times." Kali was once again stunned by his beauty. It made sense to her for vampires to be so attractive, it definitely lured humans in, just like she was now. She felt a warm hand on her back and turned to see Jacob smiling down at her.

"Billy has dinner ready for us, you ready to go?" She looked at her watch and was shocked by the time. It was already seven o'clock, she didn't realize how long they had been there and the noises her stomach made her showed how hungry she really was.

She nodded and they stood to leave. Carlisle stuck out his hand but Kali hugged him instead. He cautiously wrapped his arms around her returning her embrace.

"Thank you for everything, you truly are an inspirational man." She said once she pulled away.

"That's very nice of you to say. Thank you for bringing her, Jacob. You've got an amazing girl on your side. I suggest holding on to her." He laughed and Jacob smiled and pulled Kali to his side.

"I'd have to agree." He kissed the top of her head, causing her to blush deeply. They said goodbye to everyone else and took their time walking towards the car. They stopped by the passenger door.

"This was great. Thank you." Kali said breathlessly. He kissed her softly before opening her door for her.

"No, thank you. For being amazing." She smiled and he shut her door and climbed in the driver's side before starting the car and heading home.


	5. Chapter 5

They spent the next week hanging out with the pack and hearing all of the stories. They never had a moment to rest, which would explain why Kali was so tired all the time. She would often drift off in the middle of a story told by one of the wolves and be jolted awake by their sudden shot of enthusiasm. Every night she would pass out the moment her head hit the pillow until she was awoken from the streaming light in Jacob's room.

They also spent a good deal of time with the Cullens. Kali found them very interesting. Most of all Carlisle. She knew he was probably sick of her never-ending stream of questions but he never let on that he wanted her to stop. She also spent a lot of time talking to Bella. Kali knew that Jacob was once in love with this girl and she wanted to be on good terms with her. Kali had never been the jealous type but something about the way Jacob would look at Bella she couldn't help but think how different her life would be if Jacob had never left this small town and wound up on the other side of the country. She would quickly push the thought out of her head and be thankful for what she had now and not worry about the "what-if's" in life.

The night before Christmas, Kali and Jacob were sitting on the beach bundled up in blankets, not that it was necessary for Jacob but he kept the blankets warm with his skin for Kali. They sat in silence, Kali in-between Jacob's legs on the cold sand, he had his arms wrapped around her torso and his head on her shoulder.

"I love you." Kali said breaking the quite. She could feel him smile as he brushed his lips across her ear.

"I love you more." She sighed and turned to face him meeting his lips with her. When they broke away she smiled.

"Not possible." She replied and kissed him again. "This truly has been the best week of my life and I don't want to rip you away from your family. Your father is so happy you're home. Everyone says so. Jake, I want you to stay here. Don't leave your home for me. And when I graduate I'll move here with you." Jacob was shocked by this sudden confession that he almost didn't respond.

"Kali, you are the sweetest girl I have ever met. But I don't know if I could survive the next four to five months without you! And it's crazy to ask you to come all the way to La Push for the weekend. I don't mind staying in Georgia, I love the beach- especially when it's warm." He squeezed her referring to how cold it is. "And my father will understand. He knows how imprinting works, they all do."

Kali looked down at her hands intertwined with his. "I don't want you to give up anything you don't want to just for me. I don't want to be the kind of girlfriend that makes you change your whole life."

"Trust me, it'd be worse for me to move back here. I want to be near you, and Washington is just too far for my liking. But if you still want to move to La Push when you graduate we can talk about that option. But that would mean leaving _your_ family. And I know how much they mean to you. We have time, there's no need to worry about it now. I'm not going anywhere. I'l follow you anywhere." He kissed her forehead. "Come on, it's almost Christmas."

They stood up and walked back to the house hand in hand, Kali still had all the blankets wrapped around her shoulders. When they reached the house Kali went straight to Jacob's bedroom and laid down on the bed.

"You're not going to stay up and wait?" He asked sounding a lot like a five-year-old.

"No, I'm tired." She said with her eyes still closed.

"You've been tired a lot recently. Have you noticed that?" He asked amused but she detected a hint of concern in his voice as well. She opened her eyes to see Jake kneeling next to the bed. He placed a hand on her head and began running his fingers through her hair.

"Well, we've been non-stop all week. I guess I'm just wiped out. No big deal." She closed her eyes again loving the way his hand felt in her hair.

"Okay, well we'll take a break after tomorrow, just enjoy the rest of the visit." He said sliding into the bed next to her and pulled her into his chest. She was already asleep.

The next morning Kali woke up to lips on her neck. She stirred and rolled into Jacob.

"Good morning." He greeted kissing her lips softly.

"Mm, good morning." She replied. She turned her head to look at the clock on the nightstand. It was only seven in the morning.

"Why are you up so early?" She questioned and pulled the covers over her head.

"Because it's Christmas! Aren't you excited?" He asked ripping the covers off her.

"Hey!" She whined trying to tear it from his hands. No such luck.

"Come on, I bet Dad's awake and waiting for us." He jumped up and stood in front of the bed looking down at her. She groaned and slowly rose staring at the warm bed longingly.

They walked into the living room where, just as Jake said, Billy was sitting next to the large Christmas tree. Kali was surprised to see a good amount of presents underneath.

"Good morning, I trust you got a good nights sleep?" Billy asked with a knowing tone. Jacob chuckled beside her while leading her towards the floor next to the pile of gifts.

"Can we start, Dad?" He asked reminding Kali very much of a child. She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Go ahead. I was going to try and wait for your sis-" Kali didn't hear the rest of his answer as Jacob snatched the first present with his name on it and tore the paper to shreds.

"Awesome!" Jacob exclaimed as he took out a pair of new running shoes that Kali had got him. "Thanks, baby." He said placing a quick kiss on her cheek.

"You're welcome." He smiled and handed her a small box with her name on the tag. It was wrapped in red and white striped paper. The gift tag said it was from Sam and Emily. Kali instantly felt bad for not getting them something as well. Jacob must have read her expression because bumped her gently to get her attention.

"Don't worry I signed your name on their gift." She smiled at that. "Come on, open it!"

She did, a little to slowly for Jacob's liking. It was a small wooden jewelry box with hand carved wolfs on the side. The lid had her initials carved in swirly letters.

"Wow. This is amazing! Sam did this?" She asked looked at Jacob with astonishment.

"Yeah, a lot of us were taught by are parents when we were younger. A hidden talent of ours." He chuckled gently taking the box from her hands and looking over the design.

"You can do stuff like this too?"

"Yeah, of course." He said nonchalant. Kali was in amazement and continued to stare at Jake in a daze. "My turn!" He shouted snapping her out of it.

They finished unwrapping presents one at a time, they were half way through when Jacob's sister Rebecca and her boyfriend Paul, who was also in the pack, showed up. They joined the circle and the mayhem commenced. When the destruction was over and all the presents had been opened Rebecca and Kali began bagging up all the wrapping paper while the boys went outside to start the girl. Apparently they didn't eat turkey and ham like Kali did with her family. They had a BBQ. But she figured, when in Rome.

While Kali and Rebecca cleaned they chatted over the boys and each other's plans after college. Kali really got along with Rebecca, which made her happy. She had always wanted a sister to help balance her house full of testosterone. By the time they were done more people had arrived. Kali hadn't been told it would be a party but she was glad to see everyone together and happy.

By mid-day everyone besides Billy, Jake, and Kali had left to see other friends and family and they were finally left to the quite. Jacob and Kali were curled up on the couch while Billy watched the football game. Jake and Billy were it the middle of some big debate over which receiver was best when the phone rang. Jacob reached over to pick up the cordless phone on the coffee table.

"Hello?" He answered. Kali couldn't hear who was on the other end. She relaxed against his warm skin and zone back out.

"Okay, we'll see you then." He hung up and Kali looked up from his lap. He resumed running his fingers through her long auburn hair and tuned back into the game. She cleared her throat and got no reaction.

"Jacob." He glanced down at her questioningly before looking at the television again.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Who was that?"

"Oh, it was Carlisle." She waited for more information to no avail.

"How is his?" She pushed.

"Good, good. He wants us to come over for dinner. Well, not really dinner. But dinner time." He answered.

"Ah, I thought we could just relax for the rest of the day. Since I've been so tired and all." Kali hinted, she really was exhausted from all the visiting and running around she'd been doing all week. She was hoping he would change his mind and visit the Cullens another night.

"Oh, yeah. We'll have all day tomorrow to rest. Today's Christmas, and Carlisle said he had a really great gift for you." This peaked Kali's interest. What could Carlisle possibly gotten for her?

"Okay, well let me shower and get ready. Do you want to eat before we head over there, who knows how long this visit will last." She rose from the couch and paused in front of Jacob's view of the television to ensure she had his attention.

"Sure, sure." He peered his head around her causing a sigh to escape her lips. She headed towards the bathroom to take a long hot shower leaving Billy and Jake to the game.

"I wouldn't start that if I were you." Billy remarked.

"Huh?" Jacob asked looking away from the screen while it was on commercials.

"Ignoring you're girlfriend like that. She came all the way out to Washington instead of spending the holidays with her own family. You might want to show a little gratitude and do whatever her little heart desires." He advised a mischievous grin on his face.

"I know, I know. Sometimes I forget she can walk away so easily. It's not really a balanced relationship, imprinting." Jacob reminded himself.

Billy nodded. "That's true. But I don't think she would walk away that easily." He smiled before he looked back at the game. The spent the rest of time in silence before Kali came back out.

Her hair was straight hanging lose down to her mid-back, she had little make-up on and wore jeans with a red wool sweater. Jacob smiled up at her before throwing on his boots and grabbing her jacket.

"Where's yours?" Kali asked while pulling hers on.

"Don't need one..." He trailed off and raised an eyebrow.

She grinned, "Right, I keep forgetting about that." He rolled his eyes before they said their goodbyes to Billy and walk out into the frigid late afternoon air. Kali shivered before Jacob wrapped her in his arms, instantly surrounding her in his warmth.

"Kali, before we go anywhere I want to apologize. I'm so thankful you came up here to meet my family when you could have just as easily stayed home. I don't want you to feel like I don't appreciate everything you do for me. Especially after I told you about what I am and my pack and-"

She silenced him with a quick kiss. "Jacob, I'm happy to be here, really." She paused as they stood frozen to each other. "Come on, before the Cullen's start to worry."

The piled into the old white Chevrolet pick-up truck and headed down the road towards the Cullen's. They held hands the whole way there and talked about Kali's last semester of school. She was excited to graduate in May but she was also worried about being completely self-reliant for the rest of her life. She tried not to dwell on that last though too much. She had Jacob after all.

Jacob turned into a long driveway that lasted a little over a mile before they could see the mansion before them. Christmas lights and decoration covered the front of the house and trees around the entrance all very tastefully done. Kali assumed this was all Alice's doing. The curtains were pulled away from the window so you could see the enormous pine tree, covered in ornaments and lights as well.

Jacob must of saw Kali's awed expression because he scoffed and said, "Typical Alice." Before stepping out of the car and walking around to open Kali's door for her. He helped her down onto her feet and headed towards the house. Carlisle met them on the front porch with Esme at his side. Carlisle wore a dark green sweater with a light blue button down underneath, you could just see the collar that was laying flat over top of the sweater, and black dress pants. Esme was adorned a red 50's styled dress that went to just below her knees.

"Jacob, Kali. I'm so glad you could make it. Please come in." Carlisle welcomed them, giving Kali a hug as she walked by and shaking Jake's hand. Esme also leaned down to hug Kali. She tried to resist the shiver that overtook her from their cold skin. Esme looked apologetic but Kali cut her off before she could say anything.

"Don't worry about it. I'm so used to Jacob's hot body," she cringed when she said that seeing his smirk out of the corner of her eyes, "er, skin I mean. That even human's feel cold to me." Esme chuckled lightly and nodded her head.

Once inside Carlisle offered to take her jacket and put it in the coat closet for her. The rest of the family was waiting in the living room, they all looked to beautiful for words. Of course the inside was decorated stunningly with Christmas music playing softly in the background.

Alice was the first to step up and welcome them with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, for Kali anyways. She only lightly tapped Jacob on the arm, which amused Kali greatly. Jasper nodded from where he was to both of them. Emmett wasted no time picking Kali up in a tight bear hug that almost knocked the breath out of her. Jacob stepped up as though to break them up before Emmett put her on her feet gently.

"Calm down, wolf. I wasn't hurting her, was I?" That last part was directed towards Kali, which she quickly shook her head but also grabbed Jacob's hand to reassure him. Rosalie waved from her spot next to Jasper and sent Kali a soft smile, Kali replied with a smile of her own. Lastly Edward and Bella walked up to Kali.

"Thank you for coming, Kali. It means a lot to us." Edward said before picking her hand up to place a light kiss on. Kali felt her heart flutter, it would be impossible to deny how attractive Edward was and, unlike anyone else in the room, she was human. He shook Jacob's hand and they smiled at each other. Bella seemed a little distant but hugged Kali nonetheless and smile lightly. She threw her arms around Jacob, though, and held him for a few seconds. Kali could tell she was whispering something to him, but she talked so quick and so soft that Kali couldn't make out what she was saying. They separated soon afterward and Kali felt an awkward tension between everyone.

"So sorry, we made a dinner for you and Jacob if you're hungry." Esme stated gesturing towards the dinning room where Kali could see a table full of food. Her stomach growled involuntarily and she heard Jacob chuckle next to her. She cut her eyes towards him and nudged him in the ribs, which she assumed he didn't even feel.

"Thank you, we were supposed to eat before coming over, since I know you don't eat...um...well, human-" Carlisle interrupted Kali's blabbing.

"No trouble at all. Please eat, the chef on the television said it was delicious." Kali smiled at the thought of someone like Carlisle needed help from some celebrity chef to cook.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Jake said excitedly as they all gathered around the huge dinning room table. Jacob wasted no time fixing his plate of turkey, ham, potatoes, collard greens, corn, and many other side dishes. Kali made her plate as well and began eating.

"Have you had a good Christmas so far?" Esme asked kindly.

"I have! It's definitely been an interesting Christmas for me." Kali answered as Jake was too busy chewing. "Have y'all?" Kali asked taking another bite of the most perfectly cooked turkey she had ever had.

"It was a lovely Christmas. But we have a couple more presents to exchange." Carlisle replied with a mischievous smile.

"You really didn't need to get me anything!" Kali exclaimed feeling guilty for not being able to return anything.

"Of course we did! Jacob means a lot to us, therefore, you mean a lot to us as your lives are now bound together." Carlisle explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

After Kali and Jacob had stuffed themselves to the brim for the second time that day they all gathered around the large Christmas tree with just two presents left underneath. Jacob opened his first, inside of the small box were two plane tickets back to La Push with open dates.

"Wow, this is amazing. Thank you, really." Jacob said with emotion in his voice. Kali's heat broke a little, knowing she was the reason Jake would ever need these tickets.

"You are more than welcome. We want to see more of you, both of you. So come whenever you want." Esme said as Jacob walked over and gave them both a hug.

"You're next," Esme said as she reached under the tree gracefully to pick up the rectangular box wrapped in gold and silver paper and handed it to Kali.

"Thank you," She said as she carefully tore open the thick paper. She opened the box to revel a purple stethoscope with her initials engraved into the chestpiece. She read the brand name on the side and saw it was one of the highest quality. She felt a tear well up in her eyes. "I-I don't even know what to say. It's beautiful. Thank you so much. This means a lot to me."

"You are more than welcome. I know you're finishing up nursing school soon and, while my stethoscope is just for looks," he smiled at that, "I've heard this is a really good one for your human ears." Kali jumped up to give him a hug but the moment she stood up she felt lightheaded and quickly her eyelids flutter before they closed completely as she collapsed. Jacob swiftly caught her before she could hit the ground and looked alarmed over at Carlisle. Everyone was on their feet and circled around Kali as Jake gently laid her down on the couch.

Carlisle kneeled beside the couch and took her pulse, it was faint but there.

"We need to take her to a hospital so I can run some test. Edward, go pull the car around, I'll meet you up front." With that Edward disappeared, running into the garage.

"What's wrong with her?" Jacob questioned as Carlisle pulled Kali into his arms, and began walking toward the door.

"I don't know, but I promise I will find out." The determination in his voice did nothing to soothe Jake. They all walked outside where Edward had already pulled a black Suburban around to the front steps. He hopped out and opened the door where Carlisle placed Kali in the back seat. Jacob rolled her shoulders up enough that he could take a seat before placing her head softly in his lap. Carlisle was already in the front seat and beginning to pull out of the driveway. Jacob stroked Kali's silky black hair away from her face and felt how cold her skin was. He placed both hands on either side of her faced to try and keep her warm.

"I don't understand. She was fine a few minutes ago. What happened?"

"There are a million things that could be going on, we'll just have to wait until I can run some test. It might be something simple. I don't want you to worry just yet, Jake."

They raced off the to the hospital, but it felt like hours until they arrived. Carlisle ran inside, at a normal human speed, and grabbed a stretcher as well as a few more medical professionals. They got Kali on the stretcher and began hooking her up to all kinds of machines as they took her inside the emergency room. They were all talking so fast, throwing out numbers and acronyms that meant nothing to Jacob. He could hear the beating of her heat and the soft breaths that left her lungs but nothing else. He needed to know what was happening. All of a sudden the machine started beeping erratically and the nurses yelled out "code blue" as they surrounded her static body. Carlisle called for the paddles and they cut open her wool sweater to reveal her white lacy bra. The placed rubber pads on her chest and side while Carlisle held the paddles, he yelled something at them and placed the paddles on her body checking to make sure no one was still touching her and sent a shockwave through her body. The machine was still flat lining and Jacob felt his heart drop into his stomach. They shocked her again, still nothing. Carlisle called out for them to push some kind of medication and a higher number for the defibrillator before shocking her again. A few seconds later Jacob heard her heart start beating louder with more force and the nurse confirmed that her blood pressure was returning to a normal level and her oxygen level was increasing. Jacob felt himself relax, only a minuscule amount. Everyone else seemed to move at a slightly slower speed as they continued to hook her up to more machines and take blood. Carlisle looked over at Jacob who still had a horrified look on his face. He walked over calmly and grasped Jake's shoulders.

"She's stable right now, I'm gonna have her blood sent over to the lab to see what's going on. I'm also going to have a head CT done to let me know if that was the cause of her losing consciousness and having such a weak heart beat and low blood pressure. Okay? Do you have any questions?" Jake shook his head numbly even though he had a million questions. It was a strange site to see Carlisle in such a professional matter. He nodded before writing something down on Kali's chart before walking out of the small trauma room they had brought her too. Jacob walked up to Kali's side taking her hand that had tubes coming out of it. She felt just as cold as she did in the car and her normal tan skin was pale white and damp. She couldn't die, they had so much life to live together. It was too soon.

Two more nurses came in and told Jacob that they were taking her to get her head CT and directed him to go wait in the waiting room out front. He wanted to fight to stay with her, but knew that it wouldn't work. He watched as they wheeled her bed away with all the machines leaving an empty room. Jacob walked dazed to the waiting room he was told to go to. It felt like he waited for an eternity before Carlisle came back out. Jacob jumped up and raced over to him expectantly.

"She's awake. Come with me." Was all he said before turning on his heel and leading him back to Kali. She was in a privet room, still connect to a bunch of machines but now in a hospital gown. The bed was arranged in an upright sitting position. Jacob walked swiftly to her side and took her hand putting his head down so they were on eye level.

"Don't you ever do that to me again. You're heart stopped beating. It just stopped." Jacob said through a tight throat as his eyes began to water. She still looked so weak but grimaced at the thought of her heart stopping and the pain that must've caused Jake.

"Sorry," she said feebly. He couldn't help but to smile at the sound of her beautiful voice. They both turned their attention to Carlisle who looked grim.

"Kali I'm afraid I don't have good news. The results from your scans show a mass here," He placed the CT scan on the lighted board to reveal the image of her brain and pointed to a rather large white spot, "As you can see this tumor is quite big and in a difficult position. I have sent these scans to the best oncology surgeon in the country to look at it as we speak, but I'm not sure surgery is even an option right now. I recommend we treat this as aggressively as possible with chemotherapy and radiation." He finished looking even drearier than when he started.

Kali felt her heart begin to race again. _Cancer? I have cancer? In my brain?_ She thought to herself. She couldn't believe it, she had tried so hard to be healthy her entire life. Taking exercise very seriously and eating as healthy as a broke college student could. Why was this happening to her?

As if Carlisle could read her mind, "Cancer doesn't discriminate. Sometimes there's just nothing you could do to prevent it." She nodded slowly.

"Okay, so what now?" She asked trying to think back to her oncology clinical rotation.

"Let's wait to see what Dr. Campbell thinks before we go any further. I'm not an oncologist, so I'd rather listen to him before we decide anything. For now, just try to relax and be patient." He walked over to her and placed a cold hand on her arm. "We're going to take care of you, I promise." With that he walked out of the room, leaving Jacob and her alone.

She began to let it all out, as she had no more strength to hold back the tears. They fell freely as if a dam had just been burst through. She felt Jacobs strong arms wrap around her shoulders as she convulsed in sobs. He didn't speak, just let her cry into the crook of his neck. He tried as hard as he could to stay calm but before too long he felt the tears begin to leak down his face as well. He couldn't live without this woman, he didn't know what he would do if she was gone.

They stayed like that for an immeasurable amount of time before the tears slowly stopped coming and their breathes fell into a more natural rhythm. Jacob had worked his way to where he was laying on his side next to her, careful not to pull on any of the tubes and cords connected to Kali, and she had her head resting on his chest as he embraced her.

"You're going to be okay, do you hear me? I don't care how many doctors we have to see, or how far we have to travel. We're gonna figure this out. I promise you." He finally broke the silence pulling her even tighter. She nodded mutely. She couldn't find any words to explain how she felt in that moment.

A couple of hours later Carlisle came back in with another doctor. He was a short man with balding brown hair. His glasses looked like they were from the 80s and were resting on the brim of his nose. He wore black dress slacks with a light blue button up and a blue and white-stripped tie along with his white lab coat.

"Kali, this is Dr. Weldmen. He is the chief of oncology here and wanted to talk to you about any questions you had.

Kali bombarded him with any and every question she could think of, with Jacob quipping in every now and then. She asked about treatment options, success rates, prognosis, and symptoms. There wasn't a single topic left un-discussed. I'm sure Dr. Weldmen wasn't prepared for a nursing student to be his patient today. When Kali had finally run out of questions, Dr. Weldmen gave her his contact information and left the room.

"How are you feeling Kali?" Carlisle asked tentatively.

"I'm doing as good as I think I can be. I do need to have a conversation with my father. Am I safe to travel home in a couple of days? I would rather tell my parents in person rather than over the phone."

"Well I would prefer to keep you here to monitor you. We'll talk about air travel tomorrow. For now, just get some rest. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you. Jacob, can I talk to you?" He nodded and followed Carlisle out of the room, out of earshot of Kali.

"Tell it to me straight Carlisle." Jacob confronted.

"It's not good. Dr. Campbell looked over her scans. He doesn't have much hope for her. It's in a very dangerous place that prevents surgery. And while we can try and treat it with medicine..." He trailed off, not wanted to deliver the news he knew he had to.

"What? What is it?" Jacob pressed, he felt his throat get tight again.

"She probably only has a few more weeks, if that. She's going to start deteriorating rapidly, especially if we put her through all of the chemo and radiation."

"So what are you saying? We let her die? We don't even try? How could you say something-"

"I'm saying, there's another option. But not one you're going to like..." Carlisle trailed off with a pointed look. It took a few seconds before Jake put it together.

"No! We are not changing her! That's the same thing as killing her! Absolutely not. Find another way." Jacob stormed back into the room trying to calm himself. Kali had already fallen back to sleep, for which Jake was grateful. She looked so peaceful, like nothing was wrong- if he could ignore the gown and tubes coming out of her.

He paced back and forth, thinking about what Carlisle had suggested. He couldn't do that to her. Becoming a vampire was nothing to take lightly. Her whole world would be flipped upside down. She could never move back home with her parents where it stayed sunny most of the year. She could never have children, which he knew she wanted desperately. They would never grow old together. She would be frozen as she was now. Never changing. Never growing. No, he wouldn't let that happen to her. He was going to find a way, a human way, to save the woman he loved.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a couple of days since Kali and Jacob had learned of her illness. Jacob never left Kali's bedside. He had Edward and Bella bring a laptop to the hospital so that he could spend countless hours doing research. It didn't seem to do anything but make him worry more and more. After seeing endless amounts of pictures of patients with similar size and placement of Kali's tumor he couldn't help the sense of dread that would overcome him. There had been very few success rates of radiation and chemo, about 20% of the people lived through their original prognoses and still died a few weeks or days later. He could only find one article about a woman that survived all of the medication and reduced the size of the tumor enough to have it removed but Carlisle explained that hers was a very different case than Kali's.

Frustrated with the news, Jacob dug even deeper. He was convinced there had to be some scientific way to save the woman he so desperately loved. He wouldn't give up until the day she took her last breath. Kali had begun the downward spiral soon after being admitted into the hospital. She had a hard time staying awake long enough for the nurses to come in and check on her. They were constantly taking small samples of blood and checking her vitals. Then giving her whatever medication she needed to keep the pain away. She complained of being cold repetitively until Jacob would sit on the bed with her, taking a small break from his research. Her skin was ice cold and pale white, she looked almost nothing like herself, except on the rare occasion when Jacob could get her to smile. Then, and only then, could he see the Kali he fell in love with in that small dive bar.

Carlisle was also always around, reminding Jacob that there was always another option with his sad eyes. To which Jake would glare and go back to reading whatever depressing article he had found. Until one day.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" Jacob hollered as he ran down the hall outside of Kali's room. Carlisle had just left and was about to turn the corner when he heard Jacob. When Jacob had finally reached Carlisle he handed him the piece of paper that had Kali's salvation on it. Carlisle quickly read over it.

"It's a clinical trial, in Thailand. They've begun their recruitment a couple of days ago now that they have approval to test on human subjects. It's these two German surgeons. They've been studying these types of tumors for decades. I think this could save her life, Carlisle. Do you?" Jacob searched his eyes hoping for him to confirm the hope that was beginning to bubble up inside of him. "I haven't told Kali about it yet, I was hoping we could do that together."

"Jacob, I don't know…" Carlisle started and looked back down at the paper in his hands. "It's brand new medicine. I mean sure there's a possibility but-"

"That's all I need. I need there to be a chance it could work. That she could live another sixty years."

"There's also the possibility that traveling that far could kill her before she even gets the chance to meet these doctors." The seriousness in his voice brought Jacob down from his momentary high. "Spending fourteen hours on a plan with no medical supervision is extremely dangerous. She could have another cardiac episode, then what? Do you know what to do in that situation? How to react?"

"I'll learn! You can teach me!"

"No, Jacob. I can't because I don't think this is an option for Kali. It's too experimental and risky. She could be spending her last days surrounded by the people she loves and who love her. Or you can make her last days consist of airports and airplanes where she doesn't have a chance to tell anyone goodbye."

Jacob felt the tears begin to form again. "How about we let her decide whether she wants to fight for her life or not?" He said firmly and stormed away from the one person he thought would be on his side. When he got back to the door that led into Kali's room he took a couple of breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. He didn't want to worry her anymore that she already was. He plastered a smile on his face and walked in. She was actually awake and sitting up watching some soap opera on the television. She seemed wrapped up in the world of cheating husbands and people coming back from the dead, as she didn't look over until after the door closed behind Jake.

"Hey, beautiful." Jacob said taking two giant steps to close the distance between the two. She gave a small half smile and winced.

"Yeah right." She remarked looking down at all the things coming out of her arms and hands. "Real beautiful." She said under her breath, as though he couldn't hear her. He frowned and sat on the bed, careful not to tug on anything.

"You will always be beautiful, baby. Don't ever forget that." He said as he brushed back the hair that was covering her face. He ran his hand down her cheek gently until it was under her chin and pulled her face up to meet his eyes. They still had that same light that would always hold her pure soul. She gave him a real smile briefly before remembering what she wanted to tell him.

"I called my father." She said solemnly. "Mom and him are getting the first flight to Washington they could find. I didn't tell them everything, just that I'm in the hospital and that they should come soon, as I'm not well enough to travel yet."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her head into his chest as she began to sob, gripping his shirt in her fist. "I know this isn't fair, at all. You deserve so much better. A much better life." He let the tears fall for the first time since her diagnosis. He rested his head on hers as she let out all of her frustrations. After a few minutes the sobs slowed and she pulled away. Jacob reached over to the bedside table and pulled a few tissues from the box, handing them to her as well as keeping one for himself as he cleaned himself up. It was silly to get emotional right now. He had a solution, he just had to convince her it was the right one.

"So, I have some news I need to tell you about." Jacob started and Kali looked up expectantly. Before he could finish the nurse, Daisy, walked in.

"Good morning, sunshine. Time to take another sample." She walked over to the side Jacob was on and he jumped up out of the way. Daisy was probably in her late thirties, early twenties and was Kali's regular day nurse. There was a different one at night, Jamie. Daisy was a short blonde with the same pale skin most people from this part of the country had. She was always very kind to Kali, which made Jacob like her. When she was done she told them she would be back in couple of hours to give Kali more medication. After the door closed behind Daisy, Kali turned her attention back to Jake.

"You were telling me you had news?" She reminded him.

"Yes, you know how I've been doing all this research about your condition. Well there are these two German doctors that have been studying treatments for years and found there's a high concentration of people with similar tumors as yours in Thailand. They've come up with a new medicine that was very successful on rats and have approval to being testing on human subjects. There's a hospital in Thailand that we can go to, if they think your eligible –which you totally would be-"

"Jake…" Kali interrupted. He looked at her like he had just received a new puppy causing her to wince. "I can't even fly across the country. You think I can fly to the other side of the world? I can't make myself stay awake for more than a couple of hours at a time, there's no way I could make it all the way to Thailand, as amazing as that sounds." Her voice rang with defeat. Jacob wasn't going to let her give up that easily.

"We can figure something out, there's got to be a way to get you there safely. I don't care how much it cost. I'm going to get you that treatment. "His voice was more forcefully than he intended it to be. He saw her cringe at how loud he got and he immediately softened. "Kali, I need you. I need you to fight with me." He walked back towards her head and took her hand as he knelt on the floor. "Will you fight with me?"

"Jacob…" She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "Let me think about it, okay? Talk to my parents about it." He nodded, that was fine. He needed to send all of her charts to the hospital in Thailand anyways before he could put her on a plane. She turned back to the show she was watching and he sat next to her again thinking about how he was going to get her to Thailand.

Later that evening Kali's parents had arrived to Forks and were in the hospital. Dr. Weldmen was explaining her condition and treatment options. Jacob and Kali sat quietly and let everything sink in for them. Kali's mom, Angela, burst into tears and wrapped Kali in a tight embrace as Michael slowly sat in the cushioned chair that Jake spent majority of his nights in. Carlisle was standing in the corner of the room, by the door, listening sorrowfully.

"You? You saved her?" Michael said as he looked pointedly at Carlisle.

"I resuscitated her, yes." He answered and took a step closer. "Her heart failed and I used a defibrillator to bring her back." He explained calmly. Michael stood and walked swiftly over to Carlisle.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea." His voice cracked on the last word and he abruptly pulled away, probably first noticing how cold his skin was.

"Of course, my pleasure." Carlisle took his place back in the corner.

"Did you have any questions?" Dr. Weldmen asked pulling their attention back to the scans on the light board.

They both shook their head and Dr. Weldmen gave a swift nod before walking out of the room, Carlisle following suit.

"We're taking you home." Michael said as he rushed to Kali's bedside.

"Dad-"

"I don't want to hear it, we're taking you home. We're going to take care of you."

"Dad, I can't fly. They're worried my heart might fail again." She pressed trying to make him realize how serious this was.

"But honey, don't you want to be home? With you family? With your brother?" Angela asked softly.

"Of course I do, but I don't want to die in the process." She chuckled before grimacing. Jacob felt his heart stop briefly at the thought. Her parents both looked at each other for a long minute.

"Okay, dear. We'll figure something out. I'm gonna go find that doctor." With that Angela stood and left the room.

"Michael, I wanted to suggest something. If we can find a way to fly her safely, there's a clinical trial going on in Thailand for people with similar tumors as Kali. They've had a lot of success with rats and are moving to treat on humans. I was thinking, maybe we could try and get her in it." Michael sat very still, contemplating this option.

"But if she can't make it back home, how in the world are we going to get her to Thailand?" He asked.

"I haven't figured that part out yet…" Jacob trailed off. He had been racking his brain all day.

"What if we hired a doctor to go with her on the plane? You know, in case something happened during the transport?" Michael suggested. Jacob nodded. He had thought of that, but then he remembered what Carlisle had said.

"I don't know if we could find a good doctor that would agree with that. I told Carl- Dr. Cullen about the clinical trial. He didn't seem to think it was a viable option for Kali."

"We can find another doctor." Michael said confidently.

"I don't want to go to Thailand. I don't want to die on an airplane. I don't want to die in a foreign country with strange doctors poking and prodding at me. I want to live the rest of my life here, with you. In _America_." Kali spoke with such determination in her voice it caught Jacob by surprise.

"But honey, if this works you could live. Really live." Michael argued.

"Or I could die, which is a much more likely outcome." Jacob had never seen Kali act so stubborn. She was usually so passive about big decisions. They all sat in an awkward silence. None of them knew how to relieve the tension that had surrounded them.

The next two days involved Kali's parents constantly by her side. Which she didn't mind but she would have enjoyed some alone time with Jacob. He was always there, on the computer, calling hospitals, talking to doctors. It broke her heart to see him like this. She had no idea how her death was going to affect Jacob, being imprinted on her and everything. She wanted to ask, but thought it was too soon. They weren't there yet. She did wish that her mother would quit fussing over her. Constantly asking if she needed more blankets or water or for her to adjust her bed. But she didn't want to get frustrated with her, she was just being a good mom. Her father had been slightly distant since she shut down his plans to ship her off to the other side of the planet. She didn't quite know how to fix that one. She wanted to give in and just let them have their way. But she didn't want to be in Thailand at the end that was for sure.

Late that evening, Kali had convinced her parents to go to the hotel and get some rest. They tried arguing with her but she stood her ground. They were going to worry themselves into an early grave if they didn't take a break every now and then. After they left, Jacob crawled into bed with her. He was so gentle with her, as if she was made of glass. Which to him, she probably did feel like it. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She was so tired all the time. She began humming a tune that her mom used to sing her to sleep as a child. The memory made her think of her little brother, Ethan. He was so young when he died. She hated that her parents were going to lose another child in their lifetime. It wasn't right, children are supposed to outlive their parents, not the other way around.

As Kali hummed to herself, Jacob counted her breaths. She always had such a pretty voice. He wished she would sing more often. She mumbled something causing Jake to raise his head so he could see her face. She was starring at the door with wide eyes.

"Ethan, so little." He made out as she continued starring. "So young. You look exactly the same. You haven't aged a day." She remarked surprised. "How have you not gotten any older?" She questioned furrowing her brow.

"Kali?" Jacob asked confused.

"Do you see him? Isn't he beautiful? Perfect." She mumbled before closing her eyes and falling asleep quickly. Jacob was puzzled but figured she was falling into a dream about her little brother. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep as well.

The next morning Jacob awoke to Kali's voice. He stirred as his eyes fluttered opened. Kali was sitting upright her legs crisscross. She was talking but Jacob didn't see anyone else in the room.

"Kali, what's going on?" Jacob asked rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"Jacob, maybe we should go to Thailand." Kali said and turned around to look at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery as though she had been crying non-stop. Alarmed he gripped both of her shoulders in his hands, probably more roughly than he meant.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He interrogated urgently.

"I can see him." He furrowed his brow confused.

"Who, baby? Who can you see?" He asked, much more gently.

"Ethan. I see him. Everywhere, he's sitting right there." She said as another tear fell down her cheek. He quickly wiped it away and looked to where she was pointing. He starred at the empty green couch.

"Kali…. There's no one there." He assured her tenderly and pushed her hair back behind her ear.

"I know there's not." She snapped. "I'm not crazy. I'm sick. My tumor is telling me my dead brother is sitting on that couch. I'm getting worse. I'm starting to hallucinate." She began sobbing. "I don't want to die, Jake. I don't." She flung herself into Jacob hiding her tear-streaked face. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I'm not going to let that happen. I promise. I told you, I'm going to make sure you're okay. No matter what." He said quietly into her ear as she shook with sorrow. He was going to get her Thailand, if it was the last thing he did.

Later that day, Jacob had received a call back from the doctors performing the clinical trial to confirm that she was a candidate, but even better than that, they were going to pay for her flight to Thailand. They did agree, however, that a qualified doctor should be on board with her just in case her heart can't handle it. Jacob spent all day running around the hospital to just about ever department searching for a doctor willing to travel to Thailand with them. He had no luck. He even asked Dr. Weldmen, but he was so against traveling that he wouldn't agree either. Carlisle was his last hope.

"Carlisle…" Jacob started trying to sound firm. "We need you. We need you to come to Thailand with us. It's our only hope. She's going to die here, but they could save her. They said so themselves." Carlisle was standing at a nurse station with his back to Jacob. He was writing in a chart as Jacob spoke. He stopped and sighed.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" He questioned and turned around to face the desperate man in front of him.

"I can't. Not when there's a chance, no matter how small, of her living."

"There is another way, Jacob. She could live a long, endless life. Just let me change her, then she would never get sick again." Jacob felt the angry bubble up in his chest.

"I told you. No. She would be dead. Her heart would not beat, she would never age, never grow old. She want's children someday, I would never take that away from her."

"Have you even asked her what she would want? Did you propose this as an option for her?" Carlisle probed.

"It's not an option for her." Before Jacob could continue with his rant, Carlisle had began walking toward the elevator that would take him to the floor Kali was located on. Jacob was quick on his heels.

"This is none of your business, Carlisle. She's not in a right state of mind! She's hallucinating her dead little brother, she would probably agree to anything right now, just to feel better."

"She's hallucinating?" Carlisle stopped before pressing the button to call the elevator.

"Yes, it started this morning. She knows it's not real, but she's terrified. She knows that the end is coming." Jacob put his hands over his face in an attempt to compose himself.

"Still, she needs to hear all the options." Carlisle mashed the elevator button and headed up to Kali's room.

They walked in together. Kali was laying down on her side, her back towards the door. She was so still Jacob felt his heart stop before he heard the faint beating of her heart. _She's still here…for now._ He thought to himself before walking over to her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She rolled over slowly and gave a weak smile.

"Hi," was all she said as she reached her arms out to him. He knelt down beside the bed so that he could hug her more deeply.

"Carlisle wants to talk to you about something. I'm only allowing it so that he'll drop it once and for all." They both turned their attention to Carlisle.

"I know that Jacob doesn't approve but there is another option to save your life. A way that doesn't involve spending fourteen hours on a plane to become a test subject." Kali raised her eyebrows and looked back at Jacob, he didn't look as happy as she was starting to. She didn't really want to have to travel all the way to Thailand, so if there was another option, of course she was going to take it.

"Let's do it." She said confidently.  
"Just listen." Jacob said sternly, she nodded and turned her attention back to Carlisle.

"I could change you, I could make you into a vampire. Like me and my family, you would live forever, never grow old, you would never die from any disease." He explained as if it was the simplest thing ever. Kali felt like all the air had escaped the room. A vampire? Forever?

"Um…" she wasn't sure how to respond. She caught a glimpse of something from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to look out the window only to see Ethan sitting on the windowsill swinging his legs as if to remind her of her condition and how quickly it was starting to take over her mind.

"Can I think about it?" She asked never taking her eyes off of Ethan.

"Of course, this is a huge decision. You should talk it over." He placed his hand on Kali's leg and gave a light squeeze. She didn't have any reaction and felt his hand leave her as he walked out of the room.

"Kali, are you really considering this?" Jacob asked angrily. "You can't be serious."

"I don't know Jacob. I just need some time. Two weeks ago I didn't know any of this existed and now I might have to become a vampire just to stay alive."

"Here's the thing with that- you won't be alive. You have to die to become a vampire. The poison will kill you, it will stop your heart. You'll spend three days in agony as the venom takes over your whole body. That's not something to take lightly, Kali." She hadn't been told the process to become a vampire. The only thing she had to go off of was the movies she's seen.

"I didn't say I was going to do it Jacob." She snapped back.

"I know… I just want you to know everything about it."

"He said I would never grow, never age. What about you? You would grow old, right?"

"Not necessarily, if I shift back and forth as a wolf, I'll stay the same age." Her eyes widened.

"Oh…I could never have children though, right? If my body is frozen, it won't be able to grow a child…"Kali answered her own question.

"I know how much you want a family, that won't be possible if you do this. So please just think about it. At the end of the day, it's your choice. I will be by your side no matter what. But I think that Thailand is going to be our best option." With that he left the room to give her some space to think. He knew Kali, he knew that she would make the right decision.


End file.
